§ 4. Mr. Richard Pageasked the Secretary of State for Industry what study his Department has made of the recent report by the Small Businesses Administration in the United States entitled " Government Competition: A Threat To Small Businesses."
§ Sir Keith JosephThis report, prepared by a task group established by the office of the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the United States Small Business Administration, was published in the United States last month. A copy was obtained by the Department last week and is currently being studied by officials.
§ Mr. PageI thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. When that report is examined, I believe that it will be found to be an indictment of the activities of the American Government in squeezing smaller businesses. Will my right hon. Friend authorise a similar investigation in this country to see whether our small businesses are suffering in exactly the same way?
§ Sir K. JosephWe are already conscious of what is called the " crowding out " effect on small and other businesses of excessive Government spending, borrowing, taxing and regulating. We do not need convincing of that.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that the biggest threat to small business in this country is the high rate of interest that it is required to pay? Will he study the speech that I made in the House in November last year, when I drew the Government's attention to the need for a regional development bank, under which the rates of interest payable in the regions would be less than in other parts of the country, depending on the level of unemployment?
§ Sir K. JosephI am interested in the hon. Gentleman's suggestion, but there would be no guarantee that such lower interest rates would not leak into other activities. It is a nice question whether inflation or interest rates are the worst enemy of small businesses at the moment. Certainly our policy is intended to reduce those burdens on small businesses so that they can flourish.