§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what review of the availability of the small firms loans guarantee scheme she has carried out; and what the outcome was. [104723]
§ Nigel GriffithsFollowing a review of this scheme, its scope is being widened to include
expanding the sector coverage to include retail, catering, coal, hairdressing and beauty parlours, house and estate agents, libraries, museums and cultural activities, motor vehicle repair and servicing, steel and travel agents;increasing the maximum turnover limit for the service sector to £3 million;allow early borrowers to re-qualify for SFLGS support by excluding loans up to March 1993 from counting towards maximum loan amounts;142Wcurrently we expect to guarantee 4,000 applications by the end of the financial year. In view of the chargea we expect a 26 per cent, increase in applications from 1 April 2003.The changes come into effect from 1 April 2003.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many loans were made under the small firms loans guarantee scheme in each region and nation of the UK in the last three financial years; and what the average size of loan was. [104724]
§ Nigel GriffithsThe following table shows the average loan size and the number of loans guaranteed under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme in each region and nation of the UK in the last three financial years:
Region 2000–01 2001–02 2002–031 East Midlands 368 373 284 Eastern 495 397 306 Greater London 325 312 301 North East 151 126 111 North West 396 451 376 South East 476 517 481 South West 475 444 341 West Midlands 406 369 333 Yorkshire and Humberside 320 334 263 Northern Ireland 36 37 51 Scotland 621 698 514 Wales 243 211 201 Total 4,312 4,269 3,562 Average Loan Size 55,765 59,660 68,496 1 To end February 2003