Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what (a) schemes and (b) grants their Department administers that are open for (i) individuals, (ii) organisations and (iii) other groups in Feltham and Heston constituency to apply for as of 10 January 2024.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Department provides extensive support. Key schemes include Help to Grow: Management, the Automotive Transformation Fund and the Energy Intensive Industries Scheme.
The Government works with the British Business Bank to help SMEs access finance and the Recovery Loan Scheme helps businesses access loans and other kinds of finance. SMEs can also access guidance via the free Business Support Helpline and in England from the network of Growth Hubs.
These are some of the most relevant schemes. Interested parties may find it helpful to access the developing ‘Find a Grant’ website https://www.find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/ (more grants are being added all the time).
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to measure the potential impact of the Help to Grow scheme on business productivity.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Monitoring and evaluation of the Help to Grow: Management programme is a priority for the government and is key to understanding the impacts and success of the programme.
So far, we have published six evaluation reports covering up to March 2023. We will continue to regularly publish reports during the lifetime of the programme.
Ipsos Mori, our independent evaluation partner, will be assessing the early impacts of Help to Grow Management in line with best practice, as productivity impacts can take 3 – 7 years to be measurable.
Our Year Two evaluation report shows that approximately 90% of surveyed SME leaders felt they had increased awareness of factors that drive business and productivity growth, and two thirds of surveyed SME leaders said they had made changes to the way they manage, organise and operate their business.
Apr. 25 2024
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May. 15 2024
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May. 15 2024
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Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2023 to Question 4799 on Small Businesses: Exports, how the £200 million of funding to support small and medium-sized enterprises (a) has been spent in each of the last three years and (b) will be spent on (i) the UK Export Academy, (ii) International Trade Advisors, (iii) Help to Grow, (iv) the Export Support Service and (v) the Business Support Helpline.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Between 2022-2025, DBT currently plan to spend, including expenditure incurred, a maximum of £86.1 million on the Help to Grow: Management scheme and Business Support Helpline, £19.4 million on the Export Support Service Digital enquiry service and International Markets service, and Export Support delivered by DBT teams in the English Regions (which includes International Trade Advisers in England and the UK wide Export Academy) expect to spend £84.2 million
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using (a) the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and (b) other opportunities within further education colleges to help (i) people to develop skills for the workplace and (ii) deliver local skills improvement plans.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises the importance of ensuring learners and employees gain all the skills that businesses need to succeed and grow. The need for communication skills and resilience was also a theme that came through strongly in the employer-led Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIP) that were published in August 2023.
Each of the 38 LSIPs are led by a designated employer representative body (ERB), for example a local Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Small Business, or other local employer body. This puts employers at the heart of the skills system and supports the government’s long-term priority to drive local economic growth by better aligning provision of post-16 technical education and training with local labour market needs.
The department’s LSIPs statutory guidance makes clear that a range of national and local bodies and organisations can play an important role in supporting and facilitating the development and implementation of LSIPs. These could include youth sector organisations or schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The department recognises that opportunities provided by these organisations can help young people develop a range of skills that can support them in the workplace, such as resilience, adaptability, creativity, problem solving, decision-making and communication skills.
It is for the designated ERB in each area to determine the most relevant stakeholders to work with to deliver effective solutions to meet employer-identified local labour market needs. However, the department will review the LSIP statutory guidance ahead of the next round of LSIP development.
May. 14 2024
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May. 14 2024
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May. 03 2024
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