Enterprise Minister: Department 'does recognise' need for strong support in local economy

Tue, 14 Nov 2023

Today (November 14) in the House of Keys, the Minister for Enterprise, Tim Johnston MHK says that his Department “does recognise the need for strong support in the local economy”.

This response was to Douglas North MHK David Ashford, when he asked the Minister “what monitoring of business insolvencies his Department undertakes, and what the results of any recent monitoring have shown”.

The Minister noted that ‘insolvency is not always a reliable indicative measure of business failures or the quantity of businesses that cease to trade’, he added that whilst his Department monitors many areas of our economy, this specific measure is not something that has previously been recorded.

According to the Minister, the Department does however “recognise the need for strong support in the local economy and through Enterprise Support and Executive Agencies we are always reaching out to local businesses offering support & advice wherever we can”.

The Minister stated that since January 2023 the Agencies, through the relevant Business Development Managers have met with over 650 businesses.

He reassured the House that the Department takes all business closures “very seriously” and is continuously reviewing how its support can be improved.

Johnston encouraged any businesses that are struggling to reach out to the Department, as it may be able to assist.

In terms of results of monitoring, the Minister said that the Economic Dashboard is the core source of monitoring, showing lots of key measures including the number of both unemployed and vacancies per sector as well as total jobs per sector.

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