HC Deb 26 October 1988 vol 139 c279
3. Mr. Hayward

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many applications have so far been received for consultancy projects under the enterprise initiative.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Industry and Consumer Affairs (Mr. Eric Forth)

My hon. Friend will be aware that the enterprise initiative includes assistance with consultancy projects in key management skills essential for a competitive business. Those skills are marketing, design, quality, manufacturing technology, business planning and financial and information systems. In the nine months since we launched the enterprise initiative my Department has received over 12,500 applications for assisted consultancy, demonstrating strong business support for the service.

Mr. Hayward

In welcoming my hon. Friend to his new job, may I ask him to note that there are more Scots on the Tory Benches at the moment than on the Labour Benches? They are clearly worried about Govan. I should like to ask my hon. Friend about the effect of the enterprise initiative. Was it not originally intended for small businesses, and is it working in that way for the benefit of small businesses, and not for the benefit of medium-sized and large businesses?

Mr. Forth

The general response shows that we are meeting the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. Over 90 per cent. of the applications for assisted consultancies have been from firms with fewer than 100 employees. We are on target to fulfil the promise in the White Paper of supporting 1,000 consultancies every month. I hope my hon. Friend accepts that that is good news and will carry that message back to his constituency and encourage as many companies as possible there to make applications.

Mr. Oppenheim

Has my right hon. Friend noticed—sorry, I am jumping the gun slightly. Has my hon. Friend noticed that his enterprise initiative is being emulated as far away as on the other side of the world by the Socialist Government of New Zealand, who are proposing to privatise their state airline? Has my hon. Friend had any representations on that specific subject from anyone on the Opposition Front Bench?

Mr. Forth

My hon. Friend will not be surprised to hear that representations from the Opposition on such matters are few and far between. I think he will agree that their ideas on these matters, if they ever existed, have long since run out and they have come to accept that the initiatives that we are taking under the enterprise initiative have been, and continue to be, a resounding success.