Written questions by Narayan.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of funding disparities on the growth potential of female-led and minority-led businesses; and what steps he is taking to work with public investment institutions to close that gap.

According to data from research firm Beauhurst, the proportion of equity finance to female-led teams was stark at 2% in the first half of 2024, in comparison to 86% for all-male teams. To directly increase this, the government-backed Invest in Women Taskforce has launched a £255 million fund to invest in female entrepreneurs through female investors.To help increase the availability of funding to minority-led businesses, the British Business Bank launched the Community ENABLE Funding programme in November 2024, expected to issue loans worth up to £150 million over the next 2 years.Further, the Small Business Access to Finance call for evidence, launched on 13 March 2025, considers the difficulty of accessing finance for female and minority-led businesses. We will take forward further work in those areas once we have properly considered the results of the call for evidence.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of a free trade agreement with India.

The Business and Trade Secretary was in Delhi in February to relaunch negotiations for a trade deal with India and made good progress in building momentum towards a deal that will strengthen economic growth across the UK.A trade deal with India could improve our access to the fastest growing economy in the G20; cut red tape for business, support jobs, and boost wages in UK.Our negotiating team is working to capitalise on the positive momentum and secure a deal that strengthens our trade and investment relationship.

What steps he is taking to support employee share ownership in venture capital-backed startups.

Venture capital-backed startups will frequently offer shares in the business to employees, as part of their remuneration. Most of these startups will be eligible to use the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme, which is open to firms with assets of £30 million or less and fewer than 250 employees. Using EMI firms may award share options up to a value of £250,000 in a 3-year period, free of Income Tax and National Insurance to the employee subject to certain conditions.