Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps are being taken to support entrepreneurs in (a) Suffolk, (b) the East of England and (c) England and Wales.

We are supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses in many ways and are committed to making sure the UK is the best place in Europe to start and grow a business.

For example Start-up Loans provide new entrepreneurs with start-up finance and advice. And the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme encourages lenders, such as banks, to lend to smaller businesses that would not ordinarily get a loan. The table below shows how much both schemes have lent to small businesses in Suffolk, East of England and England and Wales.

The Government is also supporting small firms through grant funding provided by Innovate UK to support science and technology innovations that will grow the economy. In 2014/15 around 60% of Innovate UK’s funding went to small & medium sized enterprises. In the same period expenditure to micro and small enterprises in the East of England was £18.8m.

Growth hubs across England make sure that small businesses can access this support and other local and private sector support available to start and grow a business. There are currently 29 growth hubs delivering business support to around 79% of the registered business population. The remaining hubs are due to roll out across England by March 2016. The New Anglia Growth Hub provides support to businesses in the Suffolk area and has helped over 3,000 businesses and created 450 jobs. Four hubs currently provide support to businesses in the East of England area.

And the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership has secured over £220m as part of their Growth Deal to help transform the economy of Norfolk and Suffolk. This money will fund a range of initiatives including road improvements, building new innovation centres and providing grants to help businesses grow.