§ Mr. SteenTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, further to his answer of 23 February,Official Report, column 512, what plans his Department has to survey small firms to assess the value of the small firms development schemes.
§ Mr. Leigh[holding answer 17 March 1993]: The Department has a rolling programme of evaluations to assess the value of assistance schemes and to guide policy. In the last three years, 13 evaluations have been carried out of assistance schemes, of which all have involved some sampling of recipients.
487WMy right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is now considering what further evaluations should be carried out during 1993–94 to inform policy towards small and medium-sized firms.