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<p>Through our ambitious, modern Industrial Strategy we are working to make the UK
the best place to start and grow a business. We are committed to ensuring all small
businesses have access to the advice and support they need to succeed to start, grow,
and scale their businesses.</p><p>All businesses can access core services, information
and guidance on starting up and running a business, as well as their statutory rights
and obligations, on our GOV.UK sites and <a href="http://www.gov.uk/browse/business"
target="_blank">www.gov.uk/browse/business</a>. The Business Finance and Support Finder
tool on the website provides information on how to access a wide range of Government-backed
financial support for start-up businesses, such as funding and grant schemes.</p><p>The
Business Support Helpline forms a key part of the Government’s offer to SMEs in England,
providing trusted and joined-up information and sign-posting businesses to relevant
sources of support. The Helpline number is 0300 456 3565. In 2018, it helped 31,500
businesses, of which 65% were entrepreneurs and start-ups.</p><p>The network of 38
Growth Hubs across England (one in each Local Enterprise Partnership area) provide
businesses with tailored advice and support, as a dedicated, free and impartial ‘single
point of contact’. At the end of FY18/19, Government had invested £56.4 million in
Growth Hubs, with a further £12 million committed of core grant funding to LEPs for
Growth Hubs for the FY19/20 funding period. LEPS have self-reported that in FY17/18
their Growth Hubs supported over 130,000 businesses, of which over 13,000 received
high intensity support of 12 hours or more. They helped over 8,000 individuals start
a business and achieved an average customer satisfaction rate of 89.5%.</p><p>The
Government-backed British Business Bank is there to make finance markets work better
for small businesses at all stages of their development. The Bank’s programmes are
currently supporting over £6.6bn of finance to over 89,000 smaller businesses (as
at end-March 2019). The British Business Bank’s Start-Up Loans programme provides
loans to entrepreneurs seeking to start and grow their own businesses. Since 2012,
the Programme has delivered almost 65,000 loans, worth nearly £511m to small businesses
(as at end-June 2019).</p><p>Finally, we are working to make small business owners
more aware of the wide range of advice and support available to them. We continue
to develop our online support through GOV.UK, ensuring SMEs can access the key information
they need on running their business any time they wish. And we are also improving
SME awareness of finance options: the British Business Bank helps publish the Business
Finance Guide, and has launched an online Finance Hub, an online advice platform aimed
at raising awareness of appropriate finance options for SMEs.</p>
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