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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they plan to take to reverse the fall in the number of small businesses in the UK.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and government aims to make the UK one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business. The government provides a range of support that all businesses can access. These include information on starting up and running a business on GOV.UK, one to one advice via our free Business Support Helpline and through 38 Growth Hubs across England, government backed Start-Up Loans, and businesses with 5 or more employees can access our Help to Grow schemes.

Small businesses will also benefit from the £15 billion of targeted support to help with the rising cost of living. This brings the total cost of living support measures announced to £37 billion this year. Government has cut fuel duty for 12 months, raised the Employment Allowance to £5,000, and is zero-rating VAT on energy-saving materials. This builds on existing support, including business rates relief worth £7 billion over five years.