§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy 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. Cecil ParkinsonMy Department's activities in support of small businesses remain essentially as stated in my reply to my hon. Friend on 14 July 1987 at columns414–15. In the development and implementation of my Department's policies full account is taken on their impact on small businesses. In particular over the last 12 months, Government funding for British Coal Enterprise has risen to £60 million and new job opportunities, many of which are in small businesses, now total 41,041 in 2,600 individual projects; I am seeking to encourage the development of small licensed coal mine operations and I 580W am considering proposing an early increase in the statutory limits on the size of licensed mines; the Energy Efficiency Office has published booklets giving advice on energy efficiency in hotels, offices, factories and warehouses and high street banks and agencies; The Offshore Supplies Office has held a seminar on the export opportunities for smaller companies which examined ways to help them carry out economical market research and encouraged them to share the costs of doing so in carefully targeted areas.