Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Business and Trade of 31 October 2024, Official Report, column 927, what his Department's timetable is for publishing a Command Paper on support for small businesses.

The Government expects to publish the SME strategy later this year.

This will set out the Government’s vision for SMEs, from encouraging entrepreneurship to boosting scale-ups, across key policy areas such as creating thriving high streets, making it easier to access finance, opening up overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment.

The paper will complement the Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy and Trade Strategy.