§ Mr. Crawfordasked the Secretary of State for Industry what is his estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of a Government-backed loan guarantee scheme based on a ceiling of an individual £½ million per annum for small businesses.
§ Mr. Les Huckfield:There are no plans to introduce a Government-backed loan guarantee scheme at the present time, and therefore it is not possible to give estimates of possible cost. The Government are, however, urgently examining with the banks the possibility of a commercial loan guarantee scheme.