Government Loans (Hansard, 20 March 2002)

The Lord Privy Seal (Lord William of Mostyn)

The Performance and Innovation Unit's reportLending Support - Modernising the Government's Use of Loans is being published today. The key conclusions of the report are:

it sets out a new framework with criteria that will help consistent judgments to be made on when loans are more appropriate to use than alternatives such as grants;

most existing government loans, and similar types of support, score well under these criteria;

the framework has been demonstrated by applying it to a number of illustrative case studies such as the example of a government loan for unemployed people who wish to set up in self-employment;

it announces a feasibility study looking into the longer-term opportunities offered by greater joining up of the administration of all forms of citizens' debts to government and financial transactions more generally. This will report to Ministers, who will decide whether or not to commission further work.

Copies of the report have been placed in the Printed Paper Office and the Library.