Written questions by Grady.

What steps he is taking to provide support for small businesses in the Hair and Beauty sector.

Small businesses in the hair and beauty sector play an important role in supporting jobs, high streets and local economies. We've introduced permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties and have provided £4.3bn to shield ratepayers from bill increases.We continue to back employers who take on apprentices, by providing £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19 and employers are not required to pay National Insurance Contributions for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee's wage is below £50,270 a year). Additionally, the government pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care, when their employer has fewer than 50 employees.I will continue to engage closely with the sector, including through the Personal Care Roundtables, to ensure the industry's long-term growth. This includes working with hair and beauty businesses as we bring forward a new High Streets Strategy later this year.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of his Department's SME strategy on the economy.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and crucial for the delivery of our Growth Mission. We will publish a new SME strategy later this year that will complement our Industrial and Trade Strategies as part of our approach to driving economic growth. The strategy will set out how the Government is looking to support SMEs to start and grow. We will provide a further update, including relevant economic evidence and analysis, later this year.