§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 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; if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.
§ Mr. David HuntMy Department plays a full role in the Government's policies to assist the development of small business in the United Kingdom. Work carried out by this Department over the last 12 months to assist small businesses includes
implementing the measures set out in the White Paper on science, engineering and technology, notably the technology foresight programme which encourages the participation of all kinds of business, and the restructuring of the research councils, which has made them more responsive to the needs of the business community generally;encouraging greater participation of small business in EC research and development programmes, for example through CRAFT scheme which facilitates their involvement in the industrial technologies programme;encouraging Government Departments and agencies to assist business, including small firms, through citizens charter initiatives such as the revised employer's charter produced by the Contributions Agency, and the Charter Standard statement and code of practice produced by Companies House;continuing to work closely with the DTI's deregulation unit on the implementation of "Working With Business", the code of good practice for enforcement agencies;overseeing the competing for quality programme across central Government. This includes market testing and/or contracting-out many activities employing between one and 20 people before tendering, thus offering opportunities for small firms to bid for contracts.