§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for each scheme operated by his Department under which loans are available, the objectives of the scheme, the number of unrecovered loans, the total value of unrecovered loans, the average number of unrecovered loans for each year since 1990, the average value of unrecovered loans for each year since 1990 and the annual cost of recovering loans.
§ Sir John Wheeler[holding answer 24 January 1994]: Schemes operated by the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments under which loans are available and their objectives are as follows:
Urban Development Grant (UDG)
UDG is a discretionary grant designed to foster the physical and economic regeneration of inner city areas of Belfast and Londonderry by stimulation of private enterprise and investment. Assistance can be in the form of loans.Community Economic Regeneration Schemes (CERS)
CERS are jointly funded by the Department of the Environment and the International Fund for Ireland. The objective is to foster property led community development in areas suffering from urban decay where the public sector is unwilling to invest. Assistance with capital costs is usually in the form of 80 per cent. grant and 20 per cent. loan.Community Regeneration and Improvement Special Programme (CRISP)
The objective of CRISP is to provide finance for community groups to develop property related economic projects in their localities. Elements of assistance may comprise loans.Belfast Action Teams (BATs)
Loans are paid by BATs to bring about an improvement in the quality of life and an enhancement of the opportunities and prospects of people living in the Action Team areas, and improve the effectiveness with which Government expenditure is used to benefit those living in those areas.Industrial development board—Selective Financial Assistance (SFA) Scheme
The SFA scheme is administered by the Industrial Development Board to provide loan capital to industry. Funding in various forms including loan capital may, at the discretion of the Department, be offered to approved projects to encourage the introduction and development of internationally competitive companies in the manufacturing and tradeable services sectors in Northern Ireland so as to create the conditions of growth in durable employment.Local Enterprise Development Unit (LEDU)
LEDU offers loans to small firms throughout Northern Ireland as part of its overall package of assistance to assist the development and growth of the small business sector.Tourism Development Scheme (TDS)
TDS's aim is to assist the improvement of the tourist accommodation and amenities which Northern Ireland can offer 285W and thereby strengthen the competitive position of the tourism industry and improve its contribution to the economy of Northern Ireland. The range of assistance available includes loans.Government Loans Scheme
The Government loans scheme in Northern Ireland has as its objective the funding of approved capital projects undertaken by local authorities and other prescribed bodies, including schools and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.General Medical Practitioner (GMP) Loans Scheme
This scheme was introduced to assist GMPs in improving practice premises, especially in deprived areas.Social Fund Scheme
The Social Security Agency operates a Social Fund scheme under which people can apply for interest free loans to meet large intermittent or unexpected expenses. The scheme is intended to help people on a low income who cannot meet exceptional expenses from their regular income.There are two types of loans available from the Social Fund, budgeting loans and crisis loans. Budgeting loans are available to people who have been receiving Income Support for at least 26 weeks to help with important expenses which are difficult to budget for out of weekly benefit. Crisis loans are available to people who need financial help to meet expenses in an emergency or disaster, whether or not they are receiving benefit. However a crisis loan can only be awarded if it is the only way to prevent serious risk, or serious damage, to their health or safety.Information regarding unrecovered loans in the schemes for which Department of Economic Development is responsible—SFA scheme, LEDU and TDS—could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
A breakdown detailing unrecovered loans in respect of the other aforementioned schemes is as follows:
At 31 March 1991 1992 1993 Urban Development grant Number of unrecovered loans 1 1 1 Value of unrecovered loans —£ million 0.300 0.300 0.300 Belfast Action Teams Number of unrecoverd loans 19 20 21 Value of unrecovered loans —£ million 0.050 0.069 0.080 Government Loans scheme Number of unrecovered loans 12,274 12,386 12,500 Value of unrecovered loans —£ million 1,298.400 1,500.800 1,711.000 GMP Loans Scheme Number of unrecovered loans 62 60 56 Value of unrecovered loans —£ million 4.304 4.238 4.004 Social Fund Scheme Number of unrecovered loans 80,860 99,297 107,662 Value of unrecovered loans —£ million 10.675 13.215 14.396 There are no uncovered loans under CERS or CRISP.
The cost of recovering loans is not recorded in all Departments and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.