This government promised an export-led recovery but the reality is things are going backwards with the Public Audit Committee’s reporting recently that Ministers are massively off the pace to meet the £1 trillion export target.

Therefore, it’s crucial that small businesses receive necessary support from the government and so I was concerned to hear that this Government has slashed (mid-year) the budget for the Trade Show Access programme. This programme helps small businesses who are new to exporting or new to markets gain access to international trade shows -; a programme now at risk because of the decisions of this government.

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As trade bodies like Sponsors Alliance have shown, for every £1 invested in grants to companies under the programme, a minimum of £33 came back to the UK in export sales.

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I asked the Business Secretary Vince Cable why this was. You can watch my question and his answer here.