Technology founder Alex Depledge appointed entrepreneurship advisor to the chancellor

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has appointed technology entrepreneur Alex Depledge as her new entrepreneurship advisor.

Depledge has started and grown businesses including architectural planning website Resi, and domestic cleaners platform Hassle.com.

In her new role, she will advise the chancellor on key entrepreneurship issues including addressing the key barriers faced by business owners wanting to start and scale a company in the UK.

Rachel Reeves said:

"Start-ups, scale-ups and other small businesses drive the innovation that keeps Britain growing, delivering our Plan for Change.

"We have a long list of successful start-ups, scale-ups and small businesses across the UK - with the greatest density of scale ups among the seven major industrial countries in the G7.

"Having Alex on the team will bring invaluable expertise with her experience building successful businesses from the ground up, and I look forward to working with her.

Alex Depledge said:

"I'm honoured to be appointed as the chancellor's first-ever entrepreneurship advisor, a ground-breaking move that puts high-growth businesses at the heart of economic thinking.

"It's the first time an entrepreneur has held this role, and it signals a bold commitment from government to back the scale-ups and innovators powering the UK forward.

"There are over 34,000 scale-ups in the UK, just 0.6% of SMEs, yet they generate a staggering £1.4 trillion in turnover, contributing 55% of all SME revenues.

"This is a chance to rewrite the playbook on how we support entrepreneurs, and I'm here to make sure we take full advantage of it."

The announcement of Depledge's new job follows the news that Enterprise Nation founder Emma Jones is the government's new small business commissioner, the role focused on tackling late payment and overdue invoices.