§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales 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 achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.
§ Mr. David HuntThe 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.
Support for local enterprise agencies
There are currently 22 local enterprise agencies in Wales. Two organisations were approved as local enterprise agencies by me in the year to June 1991, while another two are being considered for approval. In order to strengthen the network of agencies to improve the enhance services to small businesses two mergers have also occurred.
Training and enterprise councils
TECs took over responsibility from the WDA for delivering the small firms counselling services from 1 April 1991. TECs are building in local employer-led flexibilities and have integrated these into their other enterprise programmes. All TECs in Wales are now operational.
Regional selective assistance, regional enterprise grant
Small businesses continue to take advantage of the help available under regional selective assistance. In the year to the end of June 1991, 167 small firms, employing up to 200 people, accepted offers of RSA; an increase of 15 per cent. on 1990. The value of these offers in 1991 amounted to £20.5 million, nearly 80 per cent. higher than in 1990. A further 188 small firms, employing fewer than 25 people, accepted offers of regional enterprise grant totalling £1.73 million. This compares with 289 small firms accepting offers of £2.52 million in the previous 12 months.
Enterprise Wales
382Wnumber of deaths from cancer of the lips, the oral cavity and the pharynx, separately, distinguishing (a) all ages and (b) persons over 65 years of age.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettThe available information is given in the following table:
Launched in January 1988, the consultancy initiatives have proved extremely popular in Wales. More than 4,240 companies have applied. In 1990–91 alone 1,440 applications were received, 18 per cent. above the economic weight, and 1,384 business reviews were commissioned, 16 per cent. above the economic weight.
Small firms merit award for research and technology (smart)
Last year 16 awards, worth up to £37,500 each, were made to Welsh companies compared with 14 awards during the previous year. Seven stage 2 awards (worth up to £50,000 each) were made compared with nine during the previous 12 months.
In both years Welsh companies received approximately 9 per cent. of the total number of stage 1 awards nationwide. Stage 2 awards are normally restricted by the rules of the competition to 50 per cent. of those companies receiving a stage 1 award during the previous year. On a per capita basis Wales does better than most other regions in this annual competition.