Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Kane Excerpts

Tuesday 15th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Nick Boles]

I am glad to say that Kettering is very close to my own constituency. If the Whips allow me, I will be there.

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

5. What steps his Department is taking to support businesses which export.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade (Sajid Javid)]

My Department is leading a cross-Whitehall work programme to support exports. For example, UK Trade & Investment connects UK businesses with export opportunities throughout the world. Over the next year, the UKTI export hub will travel around the country to give face-to-face assistance to first-time exporters.

[Mike Kane]

Feedback from businesses in my constituency suggests that there needs to be more support for small and medium-sized enterprises that export less than half a million pounds’ worth of goods. It suggests that once they are in the bracket of Government support, that support is short-lived, and is complicated by red tape. How would the Secretary of State respond to those businesses?

[Sajid Javid]

I agree that we should always try to do more to help small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, to export more. The hon. Gentleman may know that I recently led one of our first regional trade missions, the northern powerhouse trade mission, to the far east. It included not only the Greater Manchester chamber of commerce, but companies such as Televic Education, which is in his constituency.