§ Mr. Fosterasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will give the latest details of the number of firms assisted and the total amount guaranteed so far under the Government's loan guarantees for small businesses scheme for each English region, and for Scotland and Wales
§ Mr. MacGregorIn the first seven months of the scheme's operation, 1 June to 31 December 1981, my Department issued 1, 839 guarantees in respect of £63.6 million of bank lending to small businesses. Guarantees issued in each region—in England by reference to the areas covered by the Department of Industry's regional offices—are set out below.
£ million Region Number of Guarantees Amount ENGLAND North Eastern 52 1.7 North Western 223 7.7 Yorkshire and Humberside 139 4.6 West Midlands 187 6.3 East Midlands 128 4.5 South-East (including East Anglia) 690 25.6 South-West 175 6.0 SCOTLAND 143 4.0 WALES 97 3.0 NORTHERN IRELAND 5 0.2