§ 42. Mr. Bruceasked the Paymaster General if he will make a statement on the level of investment by pension funds and insurance companies in the small business sector.
§ Mr. TrippierFull records of investment by pension funds and insurance companies in small businesses are not available. Statistics for the United Kingdom venture capital industry show that they provide over 50 per cent. of the finance for private independent venture capital funds. A study undertaken for the National Association of Pension Funds, "An investigation of unquoted holding of United Kingdom financial institutions", showed that in a 1983–84 sample of United Kingdom pensions funds, representing about half the total in terms of asset value, 0.67 per cent. of their total assets were invested in unquoted securities of all kinds. For insurance companies, the proportion was 0.5 per cent. I believe that there is scope for pension funds and insurance companies to consider a greater involvement in the funding of small businesses with high growth potential.