Committee publication · Correspondence · 3 June 2026 · HC 281
Corres. from Minister of State, Dept for Business and Trade and HM Treasury and Parl. Under-Sec. of State, Dept for Business and Trade, re, Female entrepreneurship, dated 14.05.2026
From: Women and Equalities Committee
Inquiry: Female entrepreneurship
Summary
Ministers from the Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury respond to Women and Equalities Committee follow-up questions on female entrepreneurship, submitted after oral evidence on 22 April 2026. The response covers EIS usage by female angel investors, targeted support for underrepresented women founders, the Diverse Angel Syndicate programme, the Investing in Women Code, and the Regional Angels Programme. Key figures include £30 million committed to the Women Backing Women Fund and £6 million for ecosystem-building support for diverse angel syndicates.
Key findings
- Women represent 19% of investors claiming EIS income tax relief (2023–24), a proportion that has remained broadly stable in recent years, though data coverage is limited to Self-Assessment claims.
- Government committed £30 million to the 'Women Backing Women' Fund of Funds and doubled commitment to female-led funds to £100 million through the British Business Bank and Invest in Women Taskforce.
- Diverse Angel Syndicate programme receives £6 million of ecosystem-building funding over the four-year Spending Review period, with full evaluation built into design from the outset to assess expansion potential.
- Investing in Women Code signatories will strengthen diversity monitoring by aligning reporting requirements on gender and ethnicity data for partners, investment committee members, and portfolio companies.
- Regional Angels Programme portfolio shows 7% solely female-directed companies and 34% mixed-gender teams (higher than 19% all-female deals in wider market), broadly in line with overall market performance.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Lord Jason Stockwood, Blair McDougall MP, Sarah Owen MP, Department for Business and Trade, HM Treasury, British Business Bank, Invest in Women Taskforce, HMRC
Notable line
“… women represent a minority of angel investors using the Enterprise Investment Scheme”
Key Quotes
“We welcome the Committee's inquiry and ambition to push Government further and faster.”
“The available data shows that women represent a minority of angel investors using the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). HMRC's most recent figures indicate that, in 2023– 24, 19% of investors claiming EIS income tax relief were female.”
“It has committed £30 million to the 'Women Backing Women' Fund of Funds, alongside private sector partners, and has doubled its wider commitment to female led funds to £100 million.”
“The Bank will provide £6 million of ecosystem-building funding over the four-year Spending Review period to support and accelerate the development of diverse angel syndicates.”
“… full evaluation is built into the programme design from the outset, and the findings will directly inform decisions about expansion and wider application.”
“Out of the total RAP portfolio of 938 companies (where gender of the business director is provided) 7% have solely female directors, 34% have a mix of female and male directors, and 59% have solely male directors.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗