Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Deferred
Establish a dedicated Minister and Office in DBT to oversee women's business strategy.
Conclusion
The strategy should be overseen by a dedicated Minister and Office within the Department for Business and Trade akin to the US Office of Women’s Business Ownership, with an assigned budget and responsibility for driving implementation of the strategy, and ensuring accountability and transparency through data collection. (Recommendation, Paragraph 56)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government deflects the recommendation for a dedicated Minister and Office to oversee strategy, instead mentioning a Call for Evidence on tax incentives for business founders, which is unrelated to the proposed governance structure.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
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 14 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/688b1f6f1affbf4bedb7b11d/our-plan-for- small-and-medium-sized-businesses.pdf 15 https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/about/research-and-publications/five-year- strategic-plan 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 ↗