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<p>We want the UK to be the best place to start or grow a business and we are supporting
SMEs to do so. As part of the Industrial Strategy we have an action plan to unlock
over £20bn of investment in innovative and high potential businesses. As part of this,
British Patient Capital – a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Business
Bank – has been given resources of £2.5bn and will deliver a new programme designed
to support UK businesses with high growth potential to access the long-term financing
they need to scale up.</p><p> </p><p>We have also created a network of 38 Growth Hubs
across England, and we are tackling late payments by appointing a Small Business Commissioner.</p><p>
</p><p>Growth Hubs are a single point of contact providing SMEs with access to information
and advice. The D2N2 Growth Hub - operating in the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and
Nottinghamshire area - has had 6,583 interactions with SMEs since its launch in December
2015.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>SMEs across the UK benefit from
programmes operated by the Government-owned British Business Bank (BBB). BBB programmes
are currently supporting £575.2m of finance for SMEs in the East Midlands Region,
across 3,669 businesses. Also, as of 31 March through the BBB-owned Start-Up Loans
programme, 779 loans have been made to individuals in Nottinghamshire, totalling £5.2m.</p><p>
</p><p>The Business Support Helpline, Government’s free centralised business advice
and support service, has received 432 contacts from the Nottinghamshire area since
2015.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2015/16 nearly 70 SMEs in the Nottinghamshire area have
received Innovate UK funding in total and this includes some companies who are in
receipt of multiple awards. Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency, driving productivity
and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential
of new ideas.</p><p> </p><p>UK businesses can access core services, information and
guidance on starting up and running a business, as well as their statutory rights
and obligations, on <strong>GOV.UK</strong> (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business</a>).</p>
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