§ Mr. ReedTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department provides support to governments actively to develop employee ownership of business units programmes. [157794]
§ Hilary BennDFID provides support to governments both directly and indirectly to develop programmes that promote employee ownership of business units. In South Africa, for example, DFID is providing a range of assistance to Government to support employee ownership of privatised enterprises. This has included assistance to the Department of Public Enterprises to incorporate employee share ownership schemes in its programme to divest the state-owned forestry company's holdings. DFID is also providing support to the Government of Serbia to implement its privatisation programme, which allows for employees to bid for up to 30 per cent. of the shares in the companies.
DFID also contributes indirectly to promoting employee ownership of business through its membership of major international financial institutions such as the World Bank. Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which actively promote employee share ownership in restructuring and privatisation programmes in a number of countries. DFID has not received requests from governments to help develop employee ownership of existing business units in the private sector.
§ Mr. ReedTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department provides to governments undertaking privatisation programmes to enable employees to buy and run businesses. [157795]
§ Hilary BennFew governments have as a policy objective privatisation programmes aimed specifically at enabling employees to buy and run businesses. However, DFID provides extensive support to governments to develop the micro, small and medium enterprise sector. Our support includes assistance to governments to improve the legal and regulatory framework for enterprise; the development of financial institutions to increase the availability of finance needed to establish and operate businesses, and programmes to strengthen local management skills and business support services. These support programmes encourage and enable all entrepreneurs in the community to buy and run businesses, including employees of state-owned enterprises.
In China, for example, DFID's support to the enterprise sector combines support for state-owned enterprise reform with an enterprise development 932W programme to promote the development of small, private businesses. This programme includes consulting and training services and a credit guarantee scheme to increase bank finance for small enterprise and is open to employees of state-owned enterprises and to the wider entrepreneurial community.