§ Mr. Mark RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement on her Department's plans to encourage self-employment in rural areas. [38774]
§ Mr. PaiceSince the issue of the White Paper "Rural England—A Nation Committed to a Living Countryside" in October 1995, we have worked closely with the Rural Development Commission, RDC, and the Consortium of Rural Training and Enterprise Councils, CORT, to evaluate possible new arrangements to encourage business start-ups in rural areas.
The Government continue to provide a wide range of services for people, including those living in rural areas, who are either already in self-employment or are considering starting up in business. The services are used 656W extensively by people who live in rural areas, but there is scope to improve access for people who live in remote areas. Consequently, we intend to strengthen the delivery of these services in rural development areas through:
- (a) local projects contributing to a national focus for good practice and innovation in promoting self-employment in emote rural areas;
- (b) a new brochure for self-employed people living in remote rural areas, outlining what help is available through trainin and enterprise councils—TECs—colleges, business links and other agencies;
- (c) a conference for TECs and their partners on effective strategies for promoting self-employment in remote rural areas, and
- (d) increased attention to the needs of remote rural areas when greeing plans for support services for self-employed people.