HC Deb 08 December 2003 vol 415 cc258-9W
Mr. Woodward

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) which projects have been(a) wholly and (b) partly funded by her Department in St. Helens since 1997; when each project was announced; when it started or was expected to start; what funding was provided by (i) Government and (ii) a third party; what third party provided funding; what the target group of the project was; what the projected outcome of the project was; and what the name of the project was; [141273]

(2) how much money the Government has allocated in business support to St. Helens in each year since 1992. [141304]

Jacqui Smith

Project support information is given in the table.

the small business action plans submitted to her Department by each of the Government departments as part of their regulatory reform action plans. [142471]

Nigel Griffiths

Yes. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House when it is published early in 2004.

Brian Cotter

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many public consultations have been conducted by the Small Business Service since its inception; and if she will make a statement on(a) the response rate and (b) the availability and publication of results in each case. [141609]

Nigel Griffiths

The Small Business Service (SBS) has conducted numerous public consultations—formal and informal—since its launch in April 2000. Some have been online consultations, some have been conducted by post, and others have taken the form of public meetings or workshops.

Three major consultations have been conducted in 2003.

Bridging the Finance Gap. Consultation on improving access to growth capital for small businesses was launched by the Small Business Service and HM Treasury in April 2003. Public consultation meetings took place in all the English regions and 153 written responses were received by the closing date of August 2003. The Government plans to publish its response shortly. It will be available in hard copy form from DTI publications and on www.sbs.gov.uk. The Strategic Framework for Women's Enterprise. The SBS consulted on a draft version of the strategic framework between February and April 2003. Responses were received from nearly 100 individuals and organisations and informed the final version of the strategic framework which was published in May 2003. Copies are available from DTI publications and from www.sbs.gov.uk. Graduate Council for Entrepreneurship. The SBS and the Department for Education and Skills consulted about how to establish the Graduate Council announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Budget 2003. Consultation took place between July and September 2003 with organisations with a direct interest. More than 50 responses were received. The results were presented to respondents at a workshop held in November. The results are available electronically on request from the SBS.

The Small Business Council—an advisory Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the SBS which advises government on small business issues—has undertaken 37 town hall meetings since its launch in May 2000, nine in 2003. Reports of the 2001 and 2002 meetings are available on www.smallbusinesscouncil.org.

Brian Cotter

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department has used the small firms database supplied by the Small Business Service for use with the Small Firms' Impact Test since its introduction. [142473]

Nigel Griffiths

Yes, on 12 occasions.