The government's role in media, telecommunications and technology investment in the UK must continue to be high profile, a major organisation has stated.

According to the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta), the government's input into healthcare, digital media and green technology needs to be particularly present over the next couple of years, particularly in light of the recession.

A representative for Nesta said that her organisation's call for a £1 billion start-up fund for hi-tech industry is being "carefully considered" by the government in the run-up to the Budget.

She continued: "Gordon Brown's reference today to examining the case for 'a bank for industry and innovation' also suggests that the call for a fund is being considered."

It follows a report from April 20th from Nesta which detailed that Britain stands to lose up to £44 billion in annual income if such industries are not invested in.

More than half of small businesses (53 per cent) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support. London-based Connect conducted the research in 2007.