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, \u2018single point of contact\u2019 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>
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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>
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April 2019\u2019s 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>
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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>
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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\u202fhas been allocated to projects\u202ffrom the first round of the Business Basics Fund and we are expecting to allocate a\u202ffurther £2 million of funding\u202fin Autumn 2019.<\/p>
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[1] At May 2019<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-06-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-06-26T11:53:14.123Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-06-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Small Businesses: East Midlands"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps the Government has taken to boost the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises in the East Midlands.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "265575"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1062073", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1062073/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Industrial Strategy is our long-term plan to boost productivity by backing businesses to create high-quality, well paid jobs throughout the United Kingdom, with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure. The Government is supporting businesses in the East Midlands through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which brings together world-class UK research with business investment to develop the technologies that will transform existing industries and create entirely new ones. We have to date allocated £6m of ISCF grant funding to projects in the East Midlands and already support a wider range of projects in the East Midlands. For example, we support a robotics project based with the University of Nottingham, in partnership with businesses based at the National Space Centre in Leicester, which is dedicated to investigating the potential of manufacturing in space; which could enable the in-orbit manufacture of replacement parts and tools.<\/p>
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Also, since its launch in 2012, the Start-Up Loans programme, part of the British Business Bank, has delivered more than 59,000 loans, totalling over £450m. 65 Start-Up Loans have been provided to the Mansfield constituency with a total value of £488,200.<\/p>
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Another example of our help to local businesses to create more highly skilled jobs in East Midlands, is through the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). They are developing Local Industrial Strategies setting out how they will support the growth in their local economies.Through the Midlands Engine Strategy, we are investing in skills, industries, and infrastructure to boost productivity and create highly skilled jobs. One such instrument is the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, which provides over £250 million to support small businesses to grow. Examples of investments made by LEPs across the East Midlands that are designed to support businesses to create more highly skilled jobs include:<\/p>
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Several measures have been introduced across Government to support pubs, including a freeze on beer duty announced at Budget 2018. This means that the price of a typical pint of beer in 2019 will be 2p lower than it would have been had duty increased with inflation and 14p lower than it otherwise would have been since ending the beer duty escalator in 2013.<\/p>
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Many small pubs will benefit from the business rates retail discount announced at Budget 2018, which cuts bills by one third from April 2019 for two years. It is available to pubs with a rateable value below £51,000 and is worth almost £900 million to businesses over two years. The Government estimates up to 75% of pubs in England could be eligible for the discount, subject to state aid limits and eligibility for other reliefs.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-01-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-01-15T17:14:28.623Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-01-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Public Houses: Closures"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent pub closures.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "206458"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1027250", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1027250/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Our Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. To support this, we have a network of 38 Growth Hubs across the UK. The D2N2 Growth Hub, which serves the Nottinghamshire area is led and governed by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).<\/p>
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D2N2 Growth Hub provides a local single point of contact for all businesses, no matter their size or sector, to access business advice from across the public and private sectors, at a local and national level. In October 2018, the D2N2 LEP self-reported that the D2N2 Growth Hub has supported 6,770 businesses and helped 1,231 individuals start a business since its launch in 2014, of those individuals 281 were from Nottinghamshire and 350 from Nottingham City.<\/p>
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The Government-owned British Business Bank offers start-up loans to entrepreneurs wishing to start a business. From launch of the programme in 2012 to 30 September 2018, a total of 361 start-up loans with a value of £2 million were advanced to businesses in<\/p>
Nottingham City. The equivalent figures for Nottinghamshire are 457 loans with a value of £3.5 million.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-12-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-12-27T13:22:48.363Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-12-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Self-employed: Nottinghamshire"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the self-employed in Nottinghamshire.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "202815"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/994542", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/994542/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are creating opportunities for the UK technology sector to build on its strengths and continue to grow. This includes the ambition to raise total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. The government is increasing spending on R&D by £7bn by 2021/22, the largest increase in 40 years.<\/p>
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Support in the East Midlands includes the recently announced funding to support the creation of a new, locally-led development body for Toton, with £70m for the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre. Innovate UK funding of £12m has been invested by the Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) in the Research and Acceleration Demonstration Building on Nottingham University\u2019s Innovation Park. The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership has contributed £5m of Local Growth Fund to the Advanced Manufacturing Building at Nottingham University\u2019s Jubilee Campus. The facility will allow for diverse engineering and science disciplines to collaborate and contribute to pioneering developments for a range of sectors.<\/p>
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Through the Midlands Engine Strategy, we are investing in skills, industries, and infrastructure \u2013 building on the many strengths of the Midlands to boost productivity. It confirmed the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, which provides over £250 million to support small businesses across the Midlands to start and grow.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-06T11:12:34.58Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-10-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Technology: East Midlands"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to promote the expansion of the technology sector in the East Midlands.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "183953"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/972318", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/972318/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The network of 38 Growth Hubs across England provides free and impartial advice to anyone wishing to start and a grow a business. At March 2018, Local Enterprise Partnerships in the East Midlands reported that since launch their Growth Hubs have supported over 36,500 businesses; of which 3,835 received intensive support. Furthermore, East Midlands Growth Hubs have helped over 2,000 entrepreneurs start their own business since launch.<\/p>
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Across the UK, there are now 1.1 million women-led small and medium-sized businesses and I want to see that number grow. Access to finance is key area that can support that aim and I am pleased to report that the government-supported Start-Up Loans Company has provided loans worth nearly £436 million to those wishing to start a business, of which nearly 40% have been given to female entrepreneurs at March 2018.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-10-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-10-15T16:33:11.157Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-09-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Growth Hubs: East Midlands"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Growth Hubs in supporting women in the East Midlands who want to (a) start and (b) grow a business.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "174150"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/967813", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/967813/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Industrial Strategy aims to make the UK the best place in the world to start or grow a business. The Start Up Loans programme helps individuals access the necessary finance to start or grow a business in the UK. In addition to receiving a loan, applicants are offered free business support and access to a business mentor for 12 months after receiving funding, thereby enhancing their chances of success. Individuals can borrow between £500 and £25,000 and loan repayment periods are between one and five years.<\/p>
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The Start Up Loans programme is managed by the Start Up Loans Company, a subsidiary of the British Business Bank. At the end of July 2018 the Start Up Loans programme had lent £436m to over 57,000 entrepreneurs.<\/p>
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Since the inception of the programme in 2012, 808 loans have been distributed in Nottinghamshire at a value of £5.4m with repayments of £2.2m to date.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-09-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-09-12T17:02:25.577Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-09-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "New Businesses: Nottinghamshire"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding was awarded to businesses in Nottinghamshire under the Government-backed start-up loans scheme; and how much of that money has been repaid to date.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mansfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"} ], "uin" : "170444"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/943874", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/943874/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
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 \u2013 a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank \u2013 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>
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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>
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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>
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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>
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The Business Support Helpline, Government\u2019s free centralised business advice and support service, has received 432 contacts from the Nottinghamshire area since 2015.<\/p>
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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\u2019s innovation agency, driving productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas.<\/p>
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