Written questions by Josan.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce the burden of annual reporting for small and mid-sized quoted companies.

The government has announced plans to modernise and simplify the corporate reporting framework and expects to publish its Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation shortly. The consultation will consider financial, non-financial, remuneration and corporate governance reporting, as well as proposals to reduce burdens on business and to simplify the preparation and audit of accounts and reports, including for quoted companies. The consultation will also consider the appropriateness of the UK’s framework for reporting and auditing by small and medium-sized companies.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure audit requirements are accessible and affordable for small and mid-sized quoted companies.

The government has announced plans to modernise and simplify the corporate reporting framework and expects to publish its Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation shortly. The consultation will consider financial, non-financial, remuneration and corporate governance reporting, as well as proposals to reduce burdens on business and to simplify the preparation and audit of accounts and reports, including for quoted companies. The consultation will also consider the appropriateness of the UK’s framework for reporting and auditing by small and medium-sized companies.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure the British Business Bank supports stocks traded on AIM and Aquis.

The British Business Bank’s mission is to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK.Through its equity and debt programmes, the Bank supports privately held businesses in the earlier stages of their growth journey, helping to strengthen the pipeline of companies that reach sufficient scale to access public markets including AIM and Aquis.Once businesses are traded on a public market, they can access liquidity from existing and new investors by issuing new equity or debt securities.