§ 8. Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much money was spent by the Government on assisting small businesses in Wales in 2002–03. [142076]
§ Mr. HainThe Welsh Assembly Government provides financial support for small businesses. The majority of this is supplied by the WDA, which contributed more than £75 million in 2002–03. In addition UK Government supports small businesses through cost saving initiatives such as R&D tax credit, the improvement of the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme and raising the audit threshold for SMEs.