Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what work his Department is undertaking to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in the construction industry to expand and create more jobs.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Government is working to help all construction companies to expand and create jobs. At the Spending Review the housing budget was doubled to over £2 billion per year, and the Chancellor also committed to £100 billion of spending in this Parliament for new roads, rail, flood defences and other vital projects.
We are making sure that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have access to government contract opportunities, making it easier for them to do business with us. We are requiring departments to publish details of future projects on the “contracts finder” website, giving businesses the confidence and time to invest in relevant skills, labour and capabilities.
Access to finance can be a barrier to growth. There is a range of support and assistance available through the Business Support Helpline. The British Business Bank is a government-owned business development bank dedicated to making finance markets work better for smaller businesses, through schemes such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG). The British Business Bank promotes the EFG to high street lenders to encourage them to lend to viable smaller businesses that would otherwise be declined for lacking adequate security.
More widely the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ red tape challenge programmes are targeting rules and regulations in the construction sector. Many of those red tape requirements fall disproportionately heavily on smaller construction employers.
In addition the Government is placing employers, including small businesses, in the lead in developing new apprenticeship standards and providing financial support. Specific grants are available for smaller businesses and for younger apprentices. In addition there is a range of support for all approved learning outcomes available from the Construction Industry Training Board.