§ Mr. Shersbyasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many applications his Department has received under the loan guarnatee scheme since 1 June 1981; what is the total amount of money that has been guaranteed; and if he is satified with the success of the scheme.
§ Mr. MacGregorAt the end of January 1982, the latest date for which figures are available, 2,325 guarantees had been issued in respect of £80.1 million of bank lending and 20 applications were waiting to be processed. The take-up of scheme lending has been very encouraging, but we shall want to look more closely at how the scheme has been operating before judging its effectiveness.
I am now in discussion with the banks as to how this can best be achieved.