Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to encourage small businesses to expand.
The Government is working to make Britain the best place to start and grow a business. The Government is supporting small businesses to access advice and guidance that will help them to expand, through the network of 38 Growth Hubs and the Business Support Helpline. At Spring Budget, the Government announced £10m in additional funding for the network so that businesses in every region can access high quality support.
The Government is also supporting small businesses to improve their productivity through industry-led initiatives such as Be the Business and innovative programmes such as Business Basics. Building on the findings of the Business Productivity Review, the Government also announced £56m for a set of programmes to improve business management and leadership capabilities, and to increase technology adoption.
The Government recognises that this is a turbulent time for business due to the impacts of Covid-19. The Prime Minister has said that the Government will take every step it can to ensure that businesses and workers are protected and the Government has announced an unprecedented package of measures to support them through this crisis.