Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to help support the growth of small businesses.

Small businesses are the beating heart of our high streets, our communities, and essential to our economic success. The Government will boost small business growth and productivity by delivering upon the commitments within Labour's nine-point Plan for Small Business published prior to the election.

As a first step, we announced on 19th September 2024 new measures to help small businesses and the self-employed tackle the scourge of late payments and long payment terms.

We are also creating opportunities for small businesses to access the finance they need to scale up and to break into new markets through exporting.