HL Deb 14 April 1980 vol 408 cc109-10WA
Lord ORAM

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will list the companies to which the National Enterprise Board has made loans and indicate:

  1. (1) the approximate number of people employed by each company;
  2. (2) the amount of loans still outstanding in respect of each company;
  3. (3) the rate of interest payable on the loans by each company;
  4. (4) what was the Bank of England's minimum lending rate at the time each loan was made;
  5. (5) what estimates Her Majesty's Government make of the total financial benefit to the companies as 110 a result of receiving National Enterprise Board finance instead of borrowing the money from private commercial sources.

The MINISTER of STATE, DEPARTMENT of INDUSTRY (Viscount Trenchard)

The board's loans, except those to BL Ltd (which have been repaid) have not required the consent of the Secretary of State, and information about them is a matter for the board. The Government have made no estimate of the benefit of these loans to the recipients.