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<p>Small and medium sized enterprises in the East Midlands can access business advice
through their local Growth Hubs. Led and governed by Local Enterprise Partnerships
(LEP), Growth Hubs provide a free, impartial, ‘single point of contact’ to help businesses
in the area identify and access the right support for them at the right time no matter
their size or sector. The LEPs which cover the East Midlands have self-reported that
in FY2017-2018 their Growth Hubs supported over 12,000 businesses and helped over
300 individuals start a business</p><p> </p><p>Since its creation in 2012, the Government-backed
Start Up Loans company has made 3,573 loans worth over £25.5m to the East Midlands
region. In the Mansfield constituency, 66 loans have been made worth £503,200[1].</p><p>
</p><p>April 2019’s increase in the National Living Wage (NLW) means that 157,000
workers in the East Midlands have received an inflation-beating pay rise of 4.9%.
The latest estimates suggest that 5,000 workers in Mansfield are receiving the NLW
and National Minimum Wage.</p><p> </p><p>The Industrial Strategy is creating an economy
that works for everyone; setting out a long-term plan to boost productivity by backing
businesses to create good jobs and increase the earning power of people throughout
the United Kingdom. Nationally, the Government is providing up to £18.6 million to
Be the Business to increase firm level productivity by supporting SMEs to make simple
changes and learn from each other.</p><p> </p><p>And the £9 million Business Basics
Programme is testing innovative ways of encouraging SMEs to take-up proven technology
and business practices that can boost productivity. A total of £2 million has been
allocated to projects from the first round of the Business Basics Fund and we are
expecting to allocate a further £2 million of funding in Autumn 2019.</p><p> </p><p>[1]
At May 2019</p>
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