Written question asked by David Amess (Conservative) on Monday, 28 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 30 November 2005. It was answered by Alun Michael (Labour) on Monday, 5 December 2005 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Small Business Service

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Small Business Service in assisting the establishment of new companies.

Answer: Since the Small Business Service was established in 2000, business start-ups have risen to record levels. The number of small businesses has risen by over 500,000, since 1997, to 4.3 million. In England the Business Link service is now supporting 170,000 pre-start ups each year. The Small Business Service's Public Sector Agreement target is to help to build an enterprise society in which small firms of all kinds thrive and achieve their potential with (i) an increase in the number of people considering going into business, (ii) an improvement in the overall productivity of small firms, and (iii) more enterprise in disadvantaged communities. Recent progress in achieving this target is available on the DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk/expenditureplan/report2005/pdfs/expenditure_plan_complete.pdf

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 33551; 440 c1016W;440 c1016W
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Advisory services Standards Small businesses Small Business Service
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk