Question follow-through · 102221

New Businesses: Operating Costs

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the average start up costs incurred by first-time business founders in the UK.

answeredDepartment for Business and Trade

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body: Department for Business and Trade
Tabled: 2 Jan 2026
Target answer date: 6 Jan 2026
Answer: 7 Jan 2026 · 5 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

More questions by this MP on Economy and business

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Recorded timeline

2 Jan 2026
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the average start up costs incurred by first-time business founders in the UK.
6 Jan 2026
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
7 Jan 2026
Answer published
The United Kingdom is one of the best places to start a business, boasting one of the highest business start-up rates in the OECD – 18.6 start-ups per 1,000 people in 2022. This compares to an average of 4.5 start-ups per 1,000 people across OECD members....

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

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20 Jan 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support SMEs to benefit from trade and investment opportunities under the UK-Indonesia Economic Growth Partnership in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

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27 Jan 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what measures are in place to monitor repayments among businesses in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency receiving government-backed loans.

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27 Jan 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what evaluation criteria will be used to assess the economic impact of the £11 billion lending support on businesses in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

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5 Feb 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the contribution of export credit to the UK economy over the last five years.