§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his office and the Northern Ireland Departments in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against 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. Needham[holding answer 24 July 1990]: The Government have continued to place a high priority on helping small businesses, through improvements to the business climate, through deregulation and other measures, and through specific programmes of support and assistance. The success of their policies is demonstrated by the latest statistics which show a record increase in the number of businesses registered for VAT in the United Kingdom, of 1,700 a week during 1989. Over the decade the overall increase has been 373,000. These figures include 1,100 net registrations for Northern Ireland in 1989 compared with 600 for 1988.
Government policy in relation to small businesses in Northern Ireland is administered through the Local Enterprise Development Unit (LEDU) which is funded by the Department of Economic Development. The table sets out a number of indicators comparing the results of LEDU's performance between 1988–89 and 1989–90.
1988–89 1989–90 Jobs promoted 5,004 5,944 Cost per job £4,804 £4,344 LEDU percentage contribution to project costs 32 31 Number of offers made 943 1,122 Grant commitments £ million 22.112 24.412