§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the achievements of his Department and his policies in helping small businesses over the last 12 months compared with the previous 12 months; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonThe great majority of the farming and fishing enterprises with which my Department is concerned qualify as small businesses. Over the past 12 months my Department has continued to provide these enterprises with assistance in numerous ways; for example, through the many services of ADAS, through grants and subsidies, through trading, through our policies for conserving fish stocks and regulating fishing and through our support for a number of different bodies concerned with such matters as marketing and promotion.
576WIn the past as well as in the previous 12 months policies have been constantly reviewed, adapted and developed to meet changing circumstances and needs. In addition, my Department seeks to make a positive contribution to the Government's deregulatory strategy aimed at encouraging enterprise and removing unnecessary regulatory burdens on businesses.
In addition, as part of this Ministry's purchasing strategy, we are developing improved and closer relationships with small suppliers in order to stimulate competitiveness and innovation. Detailed guidance notes have now been issued to all purchasing staff to assist in achieving this aim and monitoring systems have been introduced which indicate that a significant proportion of the Ministry's purchasing expenditure is now being channelled through small firms.