§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all small firms centres giving the number of inquiries handled in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. TrippierThe numbers of inquiries handled by each of the Department's small firms centres are as follows:
Small Firms Centre 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 Region Birmingham 24,527 29,824 26,587 (West Midlands) Bristol 24,549 28,757 24,746 (South West) Cambridge 22,792 25,699 23,228 (Eastern) Leeds 25,901 27,172 25,050 (Yorkshire and Humberside) London 41,741 58,362 42,300 (South East) Manshester Liverpool 35,377 39,345 29,998 (North West) Newcastle 19,860 21,405 17,210 (North West) Nottingham 23,596 29,049 27,147 (East Midlands) Reading* 281 28,658 25,825 (Southern) * Reading small firms centre opened in March 1983 The small firms centres have continued to meet successfully the demands placed upon them by small businesses. The generally higher level of inquiries in 1983–84 is believed to have resulted mainly from the major publicity campaign for the small firms service in early 1983 and the 1983 Budget, which included a number of measures to help small firms. Computerisation within the small firms centres, completed early this year, and the repackaging of the Department's "Support for Business" schemes have improved the speed and quality of the service the small firms centres can offer.