Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps with the Midlands Engine to support regional (a) investment and (b) private sector collaboration.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Midlands Engine have undertaken a range of valuable work and have supported collaboration on shared growth opportunities. Moving forward, the government intends to support Mayors in collaborating at pan-regional level and creating convening bodies whose purpose, priorities and membership are decided at a regional level.
At the Autumn Budget, the Government announced that it would consult on its minded to decision not to extend funding for the six pan-regional partnerships beyond the agreed allocations to the end of the 2024-25 financial year. We are currently considering the responses received and will confirm a final decision shortly.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 22692, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Midlands Engine on business investment in the East and West Midlands.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Midlands Engine have undertaken a range of valuable work and have supported collaboration on shared growth opportunities. Moving forward, the government intends to support Mayors in collaborating at pan-regional level and creating convening bodies whose purpose, priorities and membership are decided at a regional level.
At the Autumn Budget, the Government announced that it would consult on its minded to decision not to extend funding for the six pan-regional partnerships beyond the agreed allocations to the end of the 2024-25 financial year. We are currently considering the responses received and will confirm a final decision shortly.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Midlands Engine Strategy on economic growth in the Midlands.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Pan regional partnerships have made a valuable contribution, supporting collaboration and taking forward a breadth of work on shared growth opportunities. Moving forward, the government intends to support Mayors in collaborating at pan-regional level and creating convening bodies whose purpose, priorities and membership are decided at a regional level, and working with existing regional organisations such as Sub-National Transport bodies.
At the Autumn Budget, the government confirmed that it would consult on its minded to decision to cease funding for pan-regional partnerships at the end of this financial year. The consultation sought to gather views from all interested parties on the impacts of this decision, should it be taken forward, and closed on 16 December. The Department is currently considering the responses received and will confirm a final decision shortly.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to promote investment opportunities for businesses based in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
The Government-owned British Business Bank supports business investment across the UK including through its Nations and Regions Investment Funds. This includes the £400m Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, supporting growing businesses across the Midlands.
Our Growth Hub network, including Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub, supports businesses of all sizes and sectors across England throughout their business journey. The Department for Business and Trade works across the UK, including Greater Lincolnshire, to showcase strong commercial investment opportunities to potential investors and support business to grow. The Government has also agreed a £720 million investment fund as part of the devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire to support growth and business investment.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help increase business investment in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Alan Mak
The Government-owned British Business Bank is supporting business investment across the UK including through its Nations and Regions Investment Funds. This includes the £400m Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, supporting growing businesses across the Midlands.
Our Growth Hub network is also supporting businesses of all sizes and sectors across England. The Department for Business and Trade is working across the UK, including in Greater Lincolnshire to showcase strong, commercial investment opportunities to potential investors and support business to grow. The Government has also agreed a £720 million mayoral devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire to support growth and business investment.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, whether they will list the individual regions within the UK they use to determine their strategies for (1) trade and investment, and (2) freight and logistics, sectors; and what is their rationale for selecting those regions.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
All English Regions and Devolved Nations geographies are included when determining strategies for Trade and Investment. Officials work with businesses and local stakeholders to ensure a place focus, as reflected by the organisational structure. English Regions is divided into three Super Regions - the Northern Powerhouse, Midlands Engine and the South (including London), with regional teams operating within these. As well as our second HQ at Darlington’s Economic Campus, we have established Trade and Investment hubs in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast to help bring the Department for Business and Trade’s support closer to businesses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Freight and logistics policy is a matter for the Department for Transport.
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, with reference to page 65 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, how much and what proportion of the £1.6 billion for the British Business Bank’s regional funds has been allocated to each of the qualifying regions as of 8 March 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Nations and Regions Investment Funds were announced at the 2021 Spending Review and will be delivered by the British Business Bank. The Funds will deliver a mix of debt and equity finance to businesses in their area. The allocations are:
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he will take to take to support remote rural businesses in 2023 to help assist those organisations with financial planning for 2024.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
At the Autumn Statement, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £13.6 billion of support for businesses over the next five years, reducing the burden of business rates for SMEs.
The Government is providing a range of support to help small and medium-sized businesses across the UK with rising costs, including those in rural communities. Government has cut fuel duty for 12 months, raised the Employment Allowance to £5,000, and is zero-rating VAT on energy-saving materials.
The ‘Help to Grow’ schemes help SME businesses learn new skills, reach more customers and boost profits. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) provides a price reduction to ensure that all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from high energy bills.
Furthermore, the British Business Bank’s Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, Midlands Engine Investment Fund and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund all work with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), combined authorities and Growth Hubs, as well as local accountants, fund managers and banks, to provide a mixture of debt and equity capital to SMEs across their entire regions, including in rural locations.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of trends in the regional spread of business debt in (a) each of the last five years, (b) during the covid-19 outbreak and (c) during the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Department monitors regional trends in business lending through the British Business Bank (BBB), the SME Finance Monitor survey, and the trade associations UK Finance and Responsible Finance. The BBB’s three regional funds support access to debt and equity finance in Cornwall, the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine, including Coventry.
The regional spread of business debt broadly reflects national demand for business lending and the regional distribution of the business population. Differences within regions are more significant, with Community Development Finance Institutions playing a valuable role in enabling access to debt finance for businesses in under-served areas.
According to the SME Finance Monitor, the proportion of all SMEs using external finance was 38% in Q2 2022, down from the 45% using finance in Q2 2021 and in line with pre-pandemic levels. Use of debt finance is higher for SMEs trading internationally and those with plans to grow. The majority (86%) of SMEs are in the category of ‘happy non-seekers’ of finance, meaning that they have either no debt or a level of borrowing that they consider sufficient for their needs.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many international trade advisers operate in (a) South West, (b) South East, (c) London, (d) West Midlands, (e) East Midlands, (f) East Anglia, (g) North West, (h) Yorkshire and Humberside, (i) North East, (j) Scotland, (k) Northern Ireland and (l) Wales as of 12 October 2022.
Answered by James Duddridge
Please see the below breakdown of Department for International Trade (DIT) international trade advisers (ITAs) based on region:
Southern England:
South West - 25
East of England- 21
South East - 26
London - 2 (DIT was asked to take some tough budget decisions in 2021-22 Financial Year and, given the greater density of businesses and other business support available in London compared to the rest of England, Ministers made the decision that the London ITA service would cease.)
Midlands Engine:
East Midlands - 23
West Midlands - 36
Northern Powerhouse:
Yorkshire & Humberside – 24
North West – 25
North East – 10
ITAs are provided in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by the devolved governments.