Economic Secretary Andrea Leadson visited small businesses in west London this week as part of a drive to ensure business owners can access finance.
The City Minister visited Harmony Nursery, in Harrow, as well as a local Santander branch during a stop in the town on Thursday.
She also visited DLL Finance, in Watford, as part of her day.
“A key part of our long term economic plan is to ensure that small businesses are able to access the finance they need to grow and succeed," she said. “The best way to deliver this is to increase competition in the sector and remove the barriers to new sources of finance for SMEs.
“That is why it’s great to see first-hand how Britain’s traditional and alternative banking sector is expanding and enabling small businesses in Harrow and Watford to go from strength to strength.”
The visits were part of a series by the Economic Secretary to witness how the financial services industry is thriving and contributing to the wider economy.
The Government is working to ensure SMEs can access finance in order to grow and create jobs.
In October, it published draft legislation, in the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Bill, which introduced new measures to support SMEs get the finance they need to grow.
The bill is expected to come into force in early 2015.
