Lord Risby

Travel advice for Ukraine, issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, makes clear that if a British national travels to Ukraine to fight, or to assist others engaged in the war, their activities may amount to offences under UK legislation.

Anyone, regardless of their citizenship, who travels from the UK to take part in conflicts overseas may be investigated by the police on return to determine if they have committed criminal offences, and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security.

The Crown Prosecution Service will consider any information that is referred by the police and any decision to prosecute will be considered on a case-by case basis and in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

As part of the recent Spending Review and the Government’s Plan for Small and Medium Sized Businesses, this Government has committed to a range of measures to improve access to finance for small and family-run businesses. These include:

• Expanding the ENABLE Guarantee programme from £3 billion to £5 billion, to help lenders unlock more finance options for small businesses.
• Scaling up the Start-up Loans to offer 69,000 new businesses the chance of finance and mentoring.
• Placing the Growth Guarantee Scheme on a long-term footing with funding confirmed until March 2030.

Delivered by the British Business Bank (BBB) through around 50 accredited lenders, the Growth Guarantee Scheme helps SMEs who may not meet traditional creditworthiness criteria, to access debt finance.