§ Mr. Ray Powellasked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the failure rate of firms who have received finance from the small business loan guarantee scheme; and how it compares with his Department's forecasts.
§ Mr. MacGregorAt 31 March 1983, the latest date for which comparable figures are available, my Department had authorised payment on 560 claims under the loan guarantee scheme; this represents 6 per cent. of the total of 9,396 guarantees issued by that date. It is too early to say where the failure rate on early scheme loans will eventually fall. My Department made no formal forecasts of the likely failure rate, because it was recognised that the experimental nature of the scheme would inevitably make any forecasts unreliable.