To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support small businesses to accelerate the adoption of digital tools to improve productivity, in the context of the closure of the Help to Grow: Digital scheme.

Since the closure of the Help to Grow: Digital scheme in 2023 we have been considering how best to help small businesses to adopt basic digital technologies. We know digital tools can improve firm-level productivity and a businesses’ ability to grow.

This is why in the Autumn Statement we announced that we would be setting up an industry-led taskforce to rapidly explore how best to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises with adoption of digital technology. We will be launching the taskforce shortly

The Government continues to support small businesses in other ways, such as through the Help to Grow: Management programme and the Government-backed British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans. These schemes help business leaders to start and grow their businesses.