§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications under the small firms loan guarantee scheme have been made in Northern Ireland to the latest available date.
§ Mr. MacGregorI have been asked to reply.
To 31 March 1983, my Department had issued 64 guarantees in respect of small businesses in Northern Ireland, relating to £2.6 million of bank lending. The participating banks are responsible for deciding whether to seek a scheme guarantee and there are no figures for the number of applications submitted to them.