Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted
Require significant state intervention to increase access to finance for female founders.
Conclusion
The prize of £250 billion plus in potential growth is one that the Government should throw everything it has at pursuing. Current piecemeal initiatives have had little impact, systemic change is required. First and foremost this needs to be led by increasing access to finance for female-founders. Evidence has shown that this will not happen organically, and, as demonstrated elsewhere by countries such as Canada, significant state intervention is required. (Conclusion, Paragraph 35)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government highlights the existing government-led Investing in Women Code as a significant initiative for transparency and accountability, and explains why the FCA does not request reporting from venture capital firms due to proportionality and streamlining plans.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
Women are central to unlocking growth for the UK economy and Ministers welcome the Committee’s ambition to amplify this further. That is why this Government is proud that several Ministers, including the Chancellor, are strong champions for women-led businesses. We believe this collective commitment is stronger than appointing a singular Minister and creating a separate strategy, as women-led businesses should be embedded in everyone’s agenda and their interests should be integrated into mainstream policies rather than being seen as distinct from the wider economy. We agree with the Committee that supporting women-led businesses is complementary to the Industrial and SME Strategies and we are working collaboratively across government on this basis. It should be noted that women were included in the SME Strategy14 through policies to back under-represented entrepreneurs as well as the recently published British Business Bank’s Strategic Plan15 to unlock potential across people and places. For example, we will back more businesses and investors from under-represented backgrounds through the new British Business Bank £400m Investor Pathways scheme, expanding support to diverse angel networks through new Angel Syndicate Support and Embracing Diversity programmes, and by supporting the Invest in Women Taskforce and other initiatives. Backing women and other overlooked entrepreneurs is at the heart of the Government’s economic strategy. Our greatest successes have come from an action-based approach to supporting women-led businesses through collaboration with industry leaders, including through the £635 million funding pot raised by the Invest in Women Taskforce, the largest such fund in the world. We will continue to work across departments, with the British Business Bank, and industry in our mission to unlock the untapped potential of overlooked entrepreneurs. This includes aligning the Industrial Strategy, SME Strategy, and future policies to ensure that women business leaders are fully recognised and supported.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗