Oral Answers to Questions

Feryal Clark Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Gerald Jones (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney) (Lab)]

1. What steps she is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses to export.

[Feryal Clark (Enfield North) (Lab)]

6. What steps she is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses to export.

[The Minister for Industry and Economic Security (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

My Department continues to help small and medium-sized enterprises to grow overseas and export to the world, especially this year—the year of the SME. Businesses can access a digital self-serve offer and a wide network of support, including trade advisers, export champions, the UK Export Academy, our international markets network and UK Export Finance. Last year, UK Export Finance provided £6.5 billion to exporters of all sizes, with SMEs comprising a record 84% of those supported directly with a product.

[Ms Ghani]

UK exports are increasing. Using current prices, they are up by £21 billion compared with 2023. The UK trade show was a pilot programme that did not yield the successes we thought it would, so we have other schemes in place, including the UK Export Academy, international trade advisers, Help to Grow and the export support service. Focusing on Wales, we will soon be appointing a new international trade adviser to help SMEs.

[Feryal Clark]

We are lucky that Enfield North has quite a lot of small and medium-sized businesses, but they are suffering because of the cost of spiralling bills and no Government support. Does the Minister think it is the lack of a Government industrial strategy or the lack of individual support for exporters that is most holding our businesses back?

[Ms Ghani]

That is an extraordinary statement, because in the hon. Lady’s constituency the greatest level of exports is from professional and business services, and those exports are increasing not only to the EU but to countries outside the EU. That is the reality on the ground, so our strategy is working. UK exports were £859 billion in 2023—a figure that has gone up, not down, by £21 billion. The UK is the second biggest services exporter in the world—she should be proud of that because many such businesses are in her constituency. Those exports have increased to 54% from 48%, so there is good news, but we are keen to do more.