Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the number of businesses in Sefton Central constituency that are BME owned.

The Government does not hold regional information on the proportion of BME-owned businesses in Sefton Central. The Government is aware of the challenges faced by ethnic minority businesses and is taking action to support them. The British Business Bank’s (BBB) Alone Together report (2020) found access to finance is a major barrier for ethnic minority entrepreneurs. We are working with stakeholders to agree interventions to improve access to finance. Since its launch (2012) the Start Up Loans programme has issued around 20% of its loans to Black, Asian, and Ethnic-minority business.

We are also delivering actions set out in the Inclusive Britain report (2022), which aim to support ethnic minority entrepreneurs. Ministers regularly engage with ethnic minority business leaders and networks to better understand the issues facing them.