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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to ensure adequate funding is available to small and medium sized enterprises in Enfield North constituency to support their economic recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.

SMEs remain the backbone of our economy, and though this has been such a challenging period, we have seen many businesses find creative ways to innovate, adapt and plan for the future. During the Covid-19 outbreak, the Government has introduced an unprecedented package of support for businesses, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, a range of Government-guaranteed business loans, and a significant package of direct business grants totalling £25 billion.

The Government is committed to supporting SMEs as they reopen, as Covid restrictions are lifted. The Budget 2021 announced a £520m investment over three years to create Help to Grow: Digital (100,000 SMEs – launching in autumn) and Help to Grow: Management (30,000 SMEs – launching in summer), to boost productivity of SMEs across the UK through software adoption and leadership and management training. This will help drive growth by helping SMEs to learn new skills, reach new customers and boost profits.

‘Help to Grow: Management’ will lay the foundations for recovery by providing SMEs with key skills in financial management, marketing, innovation, and supporting them to develop and adapt their business strategies. ‘Help to Grow: Digital’ will help businesses adopt technology to operate in an increasingly digital market and reach their customers online. This is in addition to the Peer Networks programme, now in its second year, supporting 6,000 small business leaders to develop skills such as leadership, management and technology adoption with the support of their peers.

Businesses which are unable to access business support or are unsure of the support available should contact their nearest Government-backed Growth Hub, where business advisers will be able to highlight potential sources of finance and clarify grants available. All contact details are available online at: www.lepnetwork.net/local-growth-hub-contacts/. All Government support for businesses affected by coronavirus, is detailed online here: www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support.