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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what criteria he plans to use to assess the effectiveness of the Help to Grow scheme; and whether those criteria include regional targets.

The effectiveness of both Help to Grow programmes will be assessed on the productivity benefits gained by SMEs, and early indicators of success based on criteria such as successful tech adoption and increased use of management practices within their business. Data on the geographical spread of participating SMEs, and their outcomes, will be part of the monitoring and evaluation.