Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government Equalities Office is taking to support women to start their own business.

I want the UK to be the best place for women to start a business. As much as £250 billion of new value could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men.

My officials at the Government Equalities Office have supported the Minister for Women to host a roundtable for a diverse range of female entrepreneurs at all stages of their journey. I was delighted to support the recent report published by the Female Founders Forum Project, showcasing successful female entrepreneurs who are powering the UK’s recovery.

The government’s Start-Up Loans programme has provided more than 31,000 loans, worth over £245 million, to women, as of October 2020.

In response to the Rose Review the government has set out an ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by 50% by 2030, equivalent to nearly 600,000 additional female entrepreneurs.