§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to encourage enterprise in disadvantaged communities. [157232]
§ Nigel GriffithsPromoting more enterprise in disadvantaged communities and among groups of people currently under-represented in enterprise is one of the seven core strategies in the "Action Plan for Small Business" that we published in January 2004.
We have introduced, and are continuing to develop, a range of measures that includes:
- establishing the Phoenix Fund with a £145 million budget to improve the quality of business support and access to finance (funding a diverse range of initiatives that target specific geographic areas as well as women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, offenders and refugees);
- tasking Business Links to ensure that their services meet the needs of everyone in their areas interested in setting up and running their own business, irrespective of where they live;
- developing enterprise areas (the 15 per cent. most deprived wards) as a means of co-ordinating better policy development;
- support for the Inner City 100 Index which celebrates and role models the success of entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities;
- specific tools to help community-based social enterprises develop their business skills;
- through the Phoenix Fund supporting the production of City Growth Strategies to help disadvantaged communities to put enterprise at the heart of regeneration.