§ Mr. David Shawasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the achievements of his Department in helping small businesses over the last three years; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.
§ Mr. MooreDetails of the Government's measures designed to help small businesses are given in the White Papers "Lifting the Burden" Cmnd. 9571 (July 1985), "Building Businesses … not Barriers" Cmnd. 9794 (May 1986) and in the progress report "Encouraging Enterprise" published May 1987, copies of which have been placed in the Library. These publications include details of those measures to help business introduced by my Department over the last three years.
Considering ways of helping small businesses and encouraging enterprise remain important elements in the work of my Department. The Department has a system to monitor proposals which impact on business to ensure that the needs of small businesses are fully taken into account. Specific performance indicators would not be of practical assistance in monitoring achievements in this area.