Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support small business growth in (a) Bexley Borough, (b) Greater London and (c) England.

Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are the backbone of our economy and have a key role to play in driving economic growth. The Government has taken action to support UK SMEs, including support with business rates; increasing the employment allowance; cutting corporation tax from 28% to 19% and exempting small and micro businesses from regulations where possible.

The London Borough of Bexley received £4,852,729 in Local Growth Funding which was delivered through the London Economic Action Partnership.

The British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme provides loans of up to £25,000 for those starting a new business, or for businesses which have been trading for up to 24 months. In addition to finance, loan recipients are offered a dedicated mentoring service and access to a free expert business mentor for 12 months to help them with every aspect of setting up a business.

The Start Up Loans programme has delivered over 91,000 loans totalling more than £830m (as at January 2022). 292 loans have been issued in Bexley, totalling over £2,979,262.