§ Mr. John Townendasked the Secretary of State for Industry what are the latest figures for take-up of the loan guarantee scheme.
§ Mr. Colvinasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many loans have been guaranteed since the loan guarantee scheme began operating; what is the average loan size; and what is the total amount guaranteed by Her Majesty's Government so far.
§ Mr. MacGregorI am pleased to announce that, to the end of November, in the first six months of the scheme, 1512 guarantees have been issued in respect of £52.6 million of bank lending. This includes £28.3 million of bank lending to new businesses. The average size of loans under the scheme is about £35,000.