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Written Question
New Businesses: Ethnic Groups
Friday 20th November 2020

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the British Business Bank report on entrepreneurship and diversity in the UK; and if he will publish the recommendations of that report.

Answered by Paul Scully

We are grateful to the British Business Bank for launching the ‘Alone together: Entrepreneurship and diversity in the UK’ report. The report is published in full and we are working with the British Business Bank to understand how to better address the challenges faced by BAME and women-led businesses. Government always welcomes input to ensure our support benefits these communities.

A diverse and inclusive finance ecosystem is good for entrepreneurs, companies, investors, and the society as a whole. Therefore, all of the Government’s business support schemes are open to eligible businesses from all regions and backgrounds, including BAME and female entrepreneurs. The Government will continue to monitor the implementation and take up of the schemes, working with investors, lenders, representative groups across the industry and the British Business Bank.

We are working with the private sector to deliver the eight initiatives of the Rose Review. Great progress has been made over the past year with NatWest and Be the Business jointly launching the Rose Review Female Entrepreneurs Mentoring Programme soon on 27 October.

More widely, the Government has set an ambition of 20,000 start-up loans being issued to Black and Minority Ethnic applicants by the end of this parliament. Of all the start-up loans issued up to September 2020, 16,159 loans (21% of lending) was issued to entrepreneurs from a BAME background and around 30,000 loans, worth over £239m, were issued to female entrepreneurs.

The Department’s Ministerial team is also actively engaging with entrepreneurs from the BAME business community to better understand their concerns, including access to finance, and has undertaken 10 engagements since March 2020.


Written Question
Females: Directors
Wednesday 1st May 2019

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds at the highest level of business.

Answered by Kelly Tolhurst

The Government is committed to working with business to achieve inclusive and diverse workplaces and supporting the independent, business-led diversity reviews in this area – the Hampton-Alexander Review (FTSE Women Leaders) and the Parker Review (Ethnic Minorities on Boards) - that have set ambitious targets for FTSE350 companies. The Hampton-Alexander Review aims for women to hold at least 33% of senior leadership and board positions by 2020. The Parker Review is campaigning for FTSE100 boards to have at least one director “of colour” by 2021, and FTSE250 boards to have the same by 2024.

We have seen the representation of women on FTSE100 boards rise from 12.5% in 2011 to 31.4% today, and on FTSE350 boards from 9.5% to 28%; and all-male boards in the FTSE350 have gone down from 152 to 2 in the same period. These reviews form part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy which aims to build an economy that works for all.

Additionally, the Government published its response to the Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship in March. The Rose Review shed light on the barriers faced by women starting and growing businesses, including: lower access to finance; a perceived lack of skills and experience; disproportionate childcare responsibilities; different risk appetite; and a lack of sponsorship and role models.

The Government has announced an ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by half by 2030, equivalent to nearly 600,000 additional female entrepreneurs, and HM Treasury is working with UK Finance to establish a new Code, Investing in Women, that will see banks and other financial institutions adopt a set of best practices that will benefit female business owners across the country. This work complements ongoing wider initiatives to address gender imbalances, like tackling the gender pay gap (at a record low), the Women in Finance Charter, and the Government’s forthcoming Gender Equality and Economic Empowerment Strategy.


Written Question
Gambia: International Assistance
Monday 29th April 2019

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of (a) EU aid and (b) UK bilateral aid to The Gambia on (i) democratic transition, (ii) economic growth, (iii) human rights, (iv) youth unemployment, (v) poverty, (vi) inequality and (vii) protection of the environment.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

The EU is set to provide Gambia with a €250m package of assistance between 2014 and 2021 focused around governance, rule of law, inclusive sustainable growth, job creation, climate change, energy and infrastructure. One programme, an €11m youth empowerment project, seeks to tackle the root causes of irregular migration through increased job opportunities and income prospects for youth. 7000 youths will complete a technical or vocational training programme or an apprenticeship and 8000 will receive entrepreneurship support services such as access to finance. The UK’s bilateral country programme in Gambia closed in 2012 but limited support is provided by regional and thematic programmes, including for family planning supplies and on migration, for instance to strengthen protection systems for children on the move in the Gambia.


Written Question
Developing Countries: Trade Agreements
Tuesday 12th February 2019

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the poverty levels of countries traded with under the Everything But Arms Agreement.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act enables the UK to put in place a UK trade preferences scheme for developing countries. The UK trade preference scheme will provide the same level of access as the current EU trade preference scheme by granting duty-free, quota-free access to the 48 Least Developed Countries covered by the Everything But Arms tier.

The way to end poverty and aid dependency is through inclusive economic growth, jobs, investment and trade. Unilateral preferences, including those provided through the Everything But Arms tier, are part of the UK’s wider efforts to reduce poverty. By providing access into a larger market, preferences support job creation and entrepreneurship within developing economies. They play a vital part in supporting the UK’s global poverty reduction efforts. At the same time, they can provide access to cheaper products for UK businesses and consumers.