The meeting, which will take place on Thursday (27 October), has been organised by the Engineering & Machinery Alliance, of which Picon is a founding member, and takes place at the DTI.

The four key topics up for discussion are grants, investment, regionalisation and regulation.

The intention of the meeting is to provide a forum for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to "have their say" and debate issues directly with the minister.

"Government ministers find it very difficult to reach the smaller businesses," said Brazier. "All too often, decisions on government legislation are taken without due consideration for the impact on SMEs. It is essential for print to have strong representation in the development of future legislation."