§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department 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 such monitoring.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe Government continue 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 Department of Transport's policies and performance indicators are published annually in the departmental report (Cm. 1507). Businesses both small and large benefit from the Department's encouragement of a fair and competitive market for transport services, from investment in transport infrastructure which helps to reduce congestion saving both time and money, and from the lifting of burdens caused by unnecessary regulation. Departmental procurement procedures also encourage the use of small firms.