§ Mr. Gryllsasked the Secretary of State for Industry, in respect of the money lent under the loan guarantee scheme, what proportion of failures is within "start-up" situations; what proportion is in existing businesses; and of these existing businesses, what proportion of failures is of those seeking to protect their existing position, as opposed to those seeking loans for growth.
§ Mr. MacGregorOf the total amount paid to the banks so far under the terms of the Government's guarantee, 41.5 per cent. has been in respect of new businesses and 58.5 per cent. existing businesses. I cannot yet answer the latter part of the question as it would involve a close examination of the default cases involving existing businesses and this is still to be considered in the review. But I have no evidence to suggest that there is widespread misuse of the scheme in providing additional finance to existing customers in difficulty so as to protect the banks' position.