§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the small firms who will directly benefit from the Government's Enterprise Fund(a) nationally and (b) in the Crosby constituency. [121660]
§ Ms HewittThe main elements of the Enterprise Fund are the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme, the UK High Technology Fund and the Regional Venture Capital Funds.
With regard to the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme, the Government act as guarantor to the lenders in the scheme. The loan is arranged between the lender and the small firm and is subject to commercial confidentiality procedures.
Both venture capital elements of the Enterprise Fund, namely the UK High Technology Fund and Regional Venture Capital Funds are currently being developed. They will be managed by professional fund managers. All their investment decisions will be made on a commercial basis. As an investor in the funds, the Government will not be able to forecast which small businesses will directly benefit.
It is therefore not possible to list, either nationally or for the Crosby constituency, which small firms will directly benefit from the Government's Enterprise Fund.