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Small Businesses: Government Assistance

Asked by Mr Richard HoldenConservativeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 22 July 2025UIN 67483

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Strategic Investment Opportunities Unit within the Office for Investment supports SMEs and scale-ups to access investment in (a) Basildon and Billericay constituency and (b) other areas outside major conurbations.

Answered by Sarah Jones

As announced in the Infrastructure Strategy the new Strategic Investment Opportunities unit will identify, shape and deliver on strategic projects and programmes with significant scope for private capital and investor interest. These will be aligned to investor demand and matched to relevant institutional investors.

Attracting investors and capital is crucial to driving growth across the country, and will ultimately benefit SMEs in locations outside major conurbations, where aligned to investor demand.

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