Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of tax incentives on levels of investment in small and mid-sized quoted companies.

The Government is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business, and understands how important it is for businesses to be able to access the finance they need to grow and develop.

That is why the Government provides three tax-advantaged venture capital schemes: the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs). The schemes provide a range of tax reliefs for investors, to encourage investment in small- and medium-sized companies at the pre-listing stage, which face the biggest challenges in accessing growth capital.

The Stamp Taxes on Shares framework also contains multiples reliefs and exemptions which are designed to boost liquidity and growth, particularly for small and medium-sized companies, such as the Growth Market Exemption.