BUSINESS Secretary Vince Cable was in Somerset last week to visit small businesses that were affected by the severe floods of 12 months ago.

Mr Cable was joined by officials from the Federation of Small Businesses as he toured businesses in the Langport area.

“This time last year, flooding on the Somerset Levels damaged many small firms that had taken many years of hard work to build up,” he said.

“While we cannot control the weather, we have set out a £2.3 billion long-term investment in flood defences and made over £1million available to support flood-hit businesses in Somerset.

“These small businesses are vital for a growing and balanced economy, and creating jobs for local communities – it is only right that we do all we can to support them.”

The Business Secretary then attended a meeting with 20 local businesses and FSB representatives at Great Bow Wharf, a social enterprise centre in Langport.

At Shakspeare Glass, a small artisanal glassmaker, he met the company’s founder, Will Shakspeare, who received a Government-backed grant to develop and implement a business recovery plan after the floods.

Later in the day Mr Cable visited Yeovil Town Football Club where he gave a speech to local FSB members.

FSB chairman of the Somerset and Wiltshire region, Patricia Marks, said: “We were delighted that Vince Cable was able to visit Somerset.

“It was an opportunity for the Federation of Small Businesses to showcase the many and varied businesses in Somerset, some of who were adversely affected by the flooding a year ago.

“But, Somerset folk are a hardy lot, with a ‘can do’ attitude! The Business Secretary could not fail to have been impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit, the willingness to diversify and maximise the bounty of the county to stimulate the local economy as a whole.”