Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that eligibility criteria for business support provides accessibility for co-operative business models.

The government aims to make the UK the best place in the world to start, scale up and grow a business. We provide extensive business support which is accessible to all types of businesses including co-operatives.

Our Business Support Helpline, 38 Growth Hubs and Made Smarter programmes provide expert advice covering, guidance, funding, signposting to all types of business, including pre-start-ups and voluntary, community and social enterprises.

Grant funding and leadership training is also available to SMEs to help them adopt industrial and management skills for growing businesses, which could include for co-operative businesses being run on a commercial basis.