Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to support small businesses adopting digital technologies.

Last summer, the industry-led SME Digital Adoption Taskforce set out ten recommendations to help small and medium-sized enterprises adopt digital technology, and boost productivity. We are taking these forward, including by collaborating with industry on new commitments to deliver support that addresses digital adoption barriers: lack of information, resources and skills.

We are running pilots with West of England Combined Authority and Leeds City Council, to test the best ways to help SMEs with digital adoption. We are also delivering support through the new Business Growth Service, with events and videos covering relevant topics as part of the Business Academy.