Lords to quiz Michael Heseltine on Small and Medium Enterprises Exports
The House of Lords Committee on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Exports will this week take evidence from Lord Heseltine, author of No Stone Unturned in the Pursuit of Growth, a report commissioned by the Prime Minister and published in October.
Lord Heseltine's report makes a makes a wide range of recommendations aimed at promoting economic growth across the economy. They include helping SMEs to improve their export performance, both as direct exporters and as contributors to the supply chains of larger companies.
The evidence session comes ahead of a House of Lords debate on Lord Heseltine's report on the same day - Thursday 6 December – which will start after 5pm.
Areas the Committee will ask Lord Heseltine about include:
- What distinguishes SMEs who are successful exporters from those which are less successful?
- What factors inhibit SMEs from venturing further into export markets?
- Why does his report propose a new support infrastructure based on the Chambers of Commerce rather than Government agencies?
- What more can be done to ensure SMEs have access to finance to support expansion into new export markets?
The evidence session will start at 10am on Thursday 6 December in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords and will be webcast live at www.parliamentlive.tv.
The evidence session is also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.
