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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase awareness of government support for small businesses in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy continues to deliver a rolling plan of engagement with UK SMEs, webinars and other events across the spectrum of our sectors to discuss the impact of COVID-19 and the continued support Government is providing to small businesses.

Moreover, through the Growth Hubs, led and governed by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP), business advisers can highlight potential sources of support available and increase awareness of government support for small businesses. Demand for Growth Hub services doubled in the first 6 months of COVID-19 impact. LEP’s have self-reported that in the first six months of the financial year 2020-2021 (1/4/20 to 31/10/20) alone, their Growth Hubs have engaged with over 1.63m businesses and individuals; provided direct support to over 147,000 businesses (of which an estimated 6,400 received over 12 hours of high level support); and helped an estimated 3,900 individuals start a business.

The Government’s business advice pages on GOV.UK also provide information and guidance relevant to starting, growing and maintaining a business, as well as their statutory rights and obligations. More detail on the support provided by devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland can also be found online: www.gov.uk/browse/business.