Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with the Federation of Small Business about the role of small firms in increasing exports.

Small and medium sized business are the backbone of our economy and central to achieving our ambition to reach £1 trillion in exports annually by 2030, which is why they are the focus of the Department for Business and Trade and UK government support. The Federation of Small Business is an important champion of small businesses and the Secretary of State values DBT’s regular engagement with this key stakeholder at ministerial and official level. The Secretary of State met the FSB along with other leading business representative organisations on 13 March with another meeting planned for April.