Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support Small and Medium Enterprises in (a) manufacturing and (b) other sectors, as part of the Industrial Strategy.

The Industrial Strategy's Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan sets out this government's plans to support manufacturers to grow and thrive, boosting jobs and increasing prosperity across the UK. SMEs will benefit from a range of policies, including skills, energy, scale-up and innovation, for example directly benefitting from the expansion of Made Smarter Adoption, with up to £99m of funding.

The Industrial Strategy will complement the recently published SME Small Business Plan that will span this Government's whole approach to driving small business growth and productivity - from boosting scale-ups to supporting budding entrepreneurs.