Lord Offord of Garvel corrected a written answer on Small Businesses: Government Assistance

9 February 2024 · Lords written answer · Department for Business and Trade

Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated, Life peer) asked written question HL1540 on 11 January 2024. Lord Offord of Garvel answered on 23 January 2024 for the Department for Business and Trade, and Lord Offord of Garvel corrected the answer on 9 February 2024. The correction replaced 2 figures (96,000, £12.2bn) with 2 figures (90,000, £12.4bn). Altogether 6 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support small firms struggling financially as a result of adverse economic conditions.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
Small and medium sized businesses are the backbone of our economy, driving economic growth. The Department for Business and Trade continues to deliver over 40 support schemes that help businesses start, grow and export. At the Autumn Statement, my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor announced further support for SMEs over the next five years. This support can be accessed through local Growth Hubs, Help to Grow and a dedicated Business Support Helpline. In addition, The British Business Bank improves access to finance to help businesses invest and grow. It currently supports over ~~£12.2bn~~ of finance to over ~~96,000 SMEs.~~	Small and medium sized businesses are the backbone of our economy, driving economic growth. The Department for Business and Trade continues to deliver over 40 support schemes that help businesses start, grow and export. At the Autumn Statement, my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor announced further support for SMEs over the next five years. This support can be accessed through local Growth Hubs, Help to Grow and a dedicated Business Support Helpline. In addition, The British Business Bank improves access to finance to help businesses invest and grow. It currently supports over £12.4bn of finance to over 90,000 businesses.

Original

Corrected

Small and medium sized businesses are the backbone of our economy, driving economic growth. The Department for Business and Trade continues to deliver over 40 support schemes that help businesses start, grow and export. At the Autumn Statement, my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor announced further support for SMEs over the next five years. This support can be accessed through local Growth Hubs, Help to Grow and a dedicated Business Support Helpline. In addition, The British Business Bank improves access to finance to help businesses invest and grow. It currently supports over ~~£12.2bn~~ of finance to over ~~96,000 SMEs.~~

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1681743?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`0d2f4501e082599d76f359cffbde27b4a4dddd16e14446bf77acac5eb3b180b4`