The North East is bottom of the league when it comes to small business start ups. Even where we have successful start ups small businesses in the North East are reluctant to scale up and power our economy.
Understanding why our region has fewer small business startups and why our existing small and medium sized businesses are reluctant to grow is key to unlocking an improved performance in this sector.
My aim is very straightforward. The North East will be recognised as the best place to set up and grow a small or medium-sized company in the UK. I will do this by making access to finance easier. My own business benefits from the North East Property Fund, a fund backed by our Local Enterprise Partnership to give loans to small businesses which would be overlooked by the high street banks. I will launch a new SME Investment Fund which will give low interest loans to small businesses based in the North East.
I was on the Coast and Lowlands LEADER grant panel and saw how grants to small and medium sized businesses made a huge difference. Money to invest in buildings, vehicles and equipment led to growth and job creation. I will use the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to launch an SME Grant Scheme that will give out grants of up to £50,000 to small businesses that can show the investment will lead to job creation. Unlike similar schemes before where the criteria was decided by the European Union, my SME Grant Scheme will be open to all job creating small businesses across the region.
