Regional Tech Ecosystems report<\/a>, which identified several regions as digital and tech growth hubs across the UK and aims to better understand the drivers of growth at a local level.<\/p>Government engagement with the tech community is one of the key levers used to understand the needs of the sector, whilst also promoting the sector's success. Ministers engage frequently with the sector through roundtable discussions and bilaterals to better understand the challenges and opportunities facing growth, such as those conducted whilst developing our Digital Strategy. From a promotional perspective, Ministers often proactively engage with regional tech events, such as Birmingham Tech Week, and utilise the Department\u2019s convening power to highlight the importance of regional investment. The department\u2019s communication strategies further champion the regional ecosystems through promotion of regional success stories to a national and international audience.<\/p>
<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4414", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Paul Scully"}
}
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, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-02-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Science, Innovation and Technology"}
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, "date" : {"_value" : "2023-02-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the growth of regional technology (a) start-ups and (b) scale-ups.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4410", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Julian Knight"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1169321", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1169321/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
As outlined in our Digital Strategy, the Government\u2019s ambition is to ensure the UK is the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business.<\/p>
To support access to finance, the Government has introduced a new £2.5 billion British Patient Capital programme, which is expected to attract a further £5 billion in private investment. This will support UK companies with high growth potential to access the long-term investment they need to grow and internationalise.<\/p>
To continue to attract international talent, the Government has: doubled the number of Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visas to 2,000; taken doctors and nurses out of the Tier 2 visa cap, increasing the number of skilled worker visas available to other sectors, including tech; and launched the new Start-Up and Innovator visa routes for entrepreneurs. In addition, the Government has committed to introducing a new 2 year visa route for individuals who graduate from UK higher education providers.<\/p>
The Government continues to fund Tech Nation, supporting their work to accelerate the growth of the digital tech sector across the country. Tech Nation deliver growth programmes for the sector aimed at stages across the business lifecycle, with programme alumni including Monzo, Deliveroo and Funding Circle. In the past year, Tech Nation have started sector-specific growth programmes in AI and Cyber, in addition to their FinTech programme. In 2019, Tech Nation's growth programmes supported 649 tech companies. Tech Nation have a regional network of 11 Entrepreneur Engagement Managers (EEMs) working across the UK to support entrepreneurs, startups and scaleups to access their programmes and networks.<\/p>
Finally, at London Tech Week 2019, the PM launched a study into the competitiveness of the UK Tech Sector. Reporting later this year, the study will identify key opportunities and support mechanisms to further accelerate business growth in the digital tech sector.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4703", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Barran"}
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, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Barran"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-01-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-01-21T17:54:12.64Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
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, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-01-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support technology start-ups.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1796", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1130855", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
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We are confident the digital technology sector and its startup community will continue to go from strength to strength. As outlined in our Digital Strategy and Charter, our ambition is to ensure the UK is the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business - and that ambition remains after we leave the EU. Tech Nation and Dealroom have released figures showing that investment in UK tech reached £6.8 billion ($8.7bn) last year and has already reached £3.8 billion ($4.8bn) in the first half of 2019, showing that the UK tech ecosystem is still world-leading and remains in a strong position.<\/p>
Through our extensive engagement with the sector, we understand that the primary barriers to growth for startups are having adequate access to both finance and talent. That is why for finance, Government announced a new £2.5 billion British Patient Capital programme, which is expected to attract a further £5 billion in private investment, in order to support UK companies with high growth potential to access the long-term investment they need to grow and go global.<\/p>
To continue to attract international talent, we have doubled the number of Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visas to 2,000, and taken doctors and nurses out of the Tier 2 visa cap, freeing up many more skilled worker visas to other sectors, including tech. At the end of March this year, Home Office launched the new Start-Up and Innovator visa routes for entrepreneurs, which will replace a route exclusively for graduates, opening it up to other talented business founders.<\/p>
In the Autumn Budget 2017 we also announced investment of £21 million to expand Tech City UK into a nationwide network \u2013 Tech Nation \u2013 aimed at accelerating the growth of the digital tech sector across the country. The funding will help Tech Nation support 40,000 entrepreneurs and up to 4,000 start-ups as they scale their businesses across the UK including Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Newcastle. And at London Tech Week last week, the PM launched a study into tech competitiveness - this will identify key opportunities and support mechanisms for business growth in the digital tech sector.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4247", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ashton of Hyde"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-06-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-06-24T11:33:17.527Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
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, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-06-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Technology: New Businesses"}
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, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to continue to increase the number of UK technology business start-ups after Brexit.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1796", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1090918", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1090918/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
In the Autumn Budget 2017 we announced investment of £21 million to expand Tech City UK into a nationwide network \u2013 Tech Nation \u2013 aimed at accelerating the growth of the digital tech sector across the country. The funding will help Tech Nation support 40,000 entrepreneurs and up to 4,000 start-ups as they scale their businesses across the UK. This includes Birmingham, with Tech Nation highlighting that digital tech turnover for the Midlands came in at £7.7billion in 2017.<\/p>
<\/p>
DCMS investments in the wider business environment are creating and developing the conditions for digital businesses in the Midlands to start and grow. In September 2018, the Government announced the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) as the lead partner of the Urban Connected Communities (UCC) Project. This initiative will see the development of a large-scale 5G pilot across the region, with hubs in cities such as Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton.<\/p>
<\/p>
The UCC project will design wireless infrastructure to deliver high quality connectivity and allow new 5G applications to be trialled in a number of sectors; allow industry to test different deployment models for 5G infrastructure and help inform the development of policy and regulation to support 5G deployment. Up to £50 million is currently available for the UCC, including £25 million of DCMS funding.<\/p>
<\/p>
DCMS are supporting the West Midlands Digital Skills Partnership which was launched in December last year. Bringing together some key regional stakeholders, supported by industry partners and Government, the West Midlands are exploring innovative ways in which to improve the talent pipeline in the region.<\/p>
<\/p>
Government further recognises that supporting digital businesses in the Midlands requires us to encourage innovation and adoption of digital tech in other sectors. The emerging West Midlands Industrial Strategy identifies exciting opportunities around data-driven health diagnostics, which will provide opportunities to test and commercialise new technologies, among wider opportunities for industrial digitisation applicable to local economic strengths. My officials also look forward to working with partners in Leicester & Leicestershire and Nottingham & Nottinghamshire in the near future, as they open discussion with Government around their Local Industrial Strategies.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4115", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Margot James"}
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, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stourbridge"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Margot James"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-03-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-03-25T15:25:38.777Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
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, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-03-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps the Government has taken to support tech start-ups in the Midlands.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4663", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ben Bradley"}
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, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ben Bradley"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1055364", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"}
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We are confident the digital technology sector and its start-up community will continue to grow from strength to strength. As outlined in our Digital Strategy and Charter, our ambition is to ensure the UK is the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business.<\/p>
<\/p>
A significant part of achieving this is ensuring the wider ecosystem has the correct infrastructure for businesses to thrive. That is why the Industrial Strategy included commitments to boost spending on 5G digital connectivity right across the UK, raising investment in research and development, and improving skills by investing in maths, digital and technical education. DCMS\u2019 Cyber Security team also supports and delivers programmes that accelerate and innovate cyber start-ups, including the NCSC Cyber Accelerator programme, and through the LORCA project - a vital step to ensure citizens and businesses can continue to operate safely online, whilst supporting UK entrepreneurs.<\/p>
<\/p>
We know primary barriers to growth for start-ups are having adequate access to both finance and talent. That is why for finance, Government announced a new £2.5 billion British Patient Capital programme. This is expected to attract a further £5 billion in private investment, to support UK companies with high growth potential to access the long-term investment they need to grow and go global. In addition, if in the event that the Government cannot agree on a future relationship with the European Investment Bank prior to EU Exit, we will provide the British Business Bank with £200m of additional funding in venture capital and growth finance. This will provide start-ups across the country with the initial capital they need to start their business.<\/p>
<\/p>
To continue to attract international talent, we have doubled the number of Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visas to 2,000. Doctors and nurses have been taken out of the Tier 2 visa cap, freeing up many more skilled worker visas to other sectors, including tech. 2019 will also see the launch of a new Start-Up visa for entrepreneurs, which will replace a route exclusively for graduates, opening it up to other talented business founders.<\/p>
<\/p>
In the Autumn Budget 2017 we announced investment of £21 million to expand Tech City UK into a nationwide network \u2013 Tech Nation \u2013 aimed at accelerating the growth of the digital tech sector across the country. The funding will help Tech Nation support 40,000 entrepreneurs and up to 4,000 start-ups as they scale their businesses across the UK including Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Newcastle.<\/p>"}
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, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-02-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to support tech start-ups.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1447", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Rosindell"}
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, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romford"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Andrew Rosindell"}
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