HC Deb 04 July 1984 vol 63 cc308-10
13. Mr. Pike

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied with the present assistance given to small businesses.

Mr. Tebbit

Considerable progress has been made and we shall continue to build on it, but we have not finished with the task we have set ourselves. One of our main priorities is to encourage the development of a strong and successful small firms sector.

Mr. Pike

Is the Secretary of State concerned about the record high levels of bankruptcies during the period of Conservative rule? How many small businesses which started up under the enterprise allowance scheme have ultimately failed?

Mr. Tebbit

I do not yet have the figures to show the success or failure rate of the enterprise allowance scheme. It is encouraging to note — I am sure the hon. Gentleman will welcome this—that, taking the figures from the VAT returns, last year there was a surplus of about 47,000 start-ups over deaths of businesses. In the four years from 1980 to 1983 there was a net surplus of 118,000.

Mr. Richard Page

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the managerial advice that is now being given to small businesses through local enterprise agencies is helping to reduce the number of bankruptcies? Would he care to tell the House how many local enterprise agencies are in existence?

Mr. Tebbit

I should like to give that information to the House, but I happen not to have the figure in my mind. I am given to understand that it is about 200. We had an extremely successful local enterprise week recently, in which more than 400 organisations took part. That is not surprising, because over the past few years the Government have helped small businesses in a number of ways. For example, they have helped them through rate capping, the abolition of metropolitan counties and the GLC, a stimulated flow of equity, the business expansion scheme, the stimulation of loan capital by means of the loan guarantee scheme, the promotion of local enterprise through the agencies, a change in the tax climate to provide more incentives for enterprise, and by reducing inflation to less than 5 per cent. I am looking forward with a great deal of interest to seeing how much further we can go in many directions to assist small businesses.

Mr. Williams

It might be of greater benefit to the House if, in future, the right hon. Gentleman allows those of his colleagues who know something about small businesses to answer questions on them. Is it not manifest nonsense that the Government, who can apparently turn a blind eye to the loss of £1,000 million as a result of the coal dispute, feel it necessary to cut the mere £25 million of support that is being given under the small loans guarantee scheme for small businesses, aid to the one sector of the economy that is actually creating new jobs? Should it not be a matter of shame for him and his right hon. and hon. Friends that, under the new scheme that has been introduced, they expect to attract only just over half the number of applications that were attracted by the old scheme? This will mean that about 2,000 businesses a year will be denied access to the loan guarantee scheme.

Mr. Tebbit

Let me tell the right hon. Gentleman of my part in looking after small businesses and of my activities in doing so. I visited the National Federation of Self-Employed headquarters at its invitation yesterday. I shall meet the Association of Independent Businesses tomorrow. I shall be speaking to the London region of the NFSE at dinner on Monday. I recently took part in a successful function, together with the BBC, in its Radio Four and Radio Times enterprise award. All these organisations and activities are vital to small businesses.

I do not accept that the coal dispute has cost £1,000 million. That is a silly and unreal figure. Secondly, does the right hon. Gentleman think that by causing losses to the British Steel Corporation he will make it any easier to give help to small businesses? Why does he not do his bit to try to get the dispute resolved?