§ 19. Mr. Russell BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of the Chancellor's pre-Budget report statement of 9 November 1999,Official Report, columns 883–906, on small businesses in Northern Ireland. [98783]
§ Mr. McFallIt is clearly too early to make any specific judgment in relation to the pre-Budget report's impact on small businesses in Northern Ireland. However, there are many aspects of the strategy which are aligned to the work of the Local Enterprise Development Unit (LEDU), the agency responsible for small business development in Northern Ireland.