Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps are being taken to support self-employed workers in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England.

The Prime Minister announced on 1 July that we will be carrying out an independent review of self-employment to shine a light on the contribution that self-employed people make to the UK economy and make recommendations on how they can be better supported. This will build on existing work to support all small businesses, including through the Enterprise Bill where we will target regulators’ actions as part of our commitment to cut a further £10 billion of red tape for the benefit of businesses, and establish a Small Business Conciliation Service to help resolve disputes.

All businesses can get free support and advice through our Business Support Helpline and 25 local growth hubs across England. From November 2013 to November 2014, Northamptonshire growth hub figures indicate that 56% of the people they supported were self-employed.