Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with the administering bodies for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme on putting in place mechanisms and procedures to prevent and detect fraud in that scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government takes the threat of fraud very seriously and a range of measures have been put in place to mitigate fraud and error risk for the loan schemes, including data and intelligence sharing arrangements, enabling us to work together and target known fraud threats.
At scheme design level, the rules of the scheme set out minimum standards in relation to fraud which highlight action lenders are expected to take to identify fraudulent applications. The British Business Bank’s (BBB) audit function enables BBB to sample portfolios of lending to assess regularity and take action if required.
For the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), we continue to work extensively with BBB and the lenders to strengthen the anti-fraud systems in place. For obvious reasons, I cannot go into specific detail about measures either in place or in development. For the same reason, it is not possible to release the number of fraudulent applications or associated investigations.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether there have been any reported incidences of fraud in relation to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government takes the threat of fraud very seriously and a range of measures have been put in place to mitigate fraud and error risk for the loan schemes, including data and intelligence sharing arrangements, enabling us to work together and target known fraud threats.
At scheme design level, the rules of the scheme set out minimum standards in relation to fraud which highlight action lenders are expected to take to identify fraudulent applications. The British Business Bank’s (BBB) audit function enables BBB to sample portfolios of lending to assess regularity and take action if required.
For the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), we continue to work extensively with BBB and the lenders to strengthen the anti-fraud systems in place. For obvious reasons, I cannot go into specific detail about measures either in place or in development. For the same reason, it is not possible to release the number of fraudulent applications or associated investigations.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many current investigations into fraud there are in relation to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government takes the threat of fraud very seriously and a range of measures have been put in place to mitigate fraud and error risk for the loan schemes, including data and intelligence sharing arrangements, enabling us to work together and target known fraud threats.
At scheme design level, the rules of the scheme set out minimum standards in relation to fraud which highlight action lenders are expected to take to identify fraudulent applications. The British Business Bank’s (BBB) audit function enables BBB to sample portfolios of lending to assess regularity and take action if required.
For the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), we continue to work extensively with BBB and the lenders to strengthen the anti-fraud systems in place. For obvious reasons, I cannot go into specific detail about measures either in place or in development. For the same reason, it is not possible to release the number of fraudulent applications or associated investigations.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many companies in receipt of a Bounce Back Loan have (a) ceased trading and (b) entered into administration.
Answered by Paul Scully
As of 5 July, over 1 million loans have been issued under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), with a total value of £31 billion.
We are currently unable to provide a breakdown on the number of companies in receipt of a Bounce Back Loan that have ceased trading and entered into administration.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what (a) financial and (b) security checks are made of (i) owners or (ii) directors of multiple companies seeking loans under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme for each of the companies in which they have a financial stake.
Answered by Paul Scully
A single business will not be eligible for multiple Bounce Back Loans; however, an individual who owns a number of separate businesses which do not fall under the same group, may apply for a Bounce Back Loan for each separate business entity. Business owners are required to self-certify that their business meets the eligibility criteria for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). Any individual that knowingly provides false information is at risk of criminal prosecution for fraud.
Applications from eligible borrowers will also be subject to customer fraud, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many loans have been issued under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) has been introduced to help small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2000 and £50,000.
As of 5 July, 1,013,410 loans have been approved under the BBLS, with a total value of £30.93 billion. Banks are reporting that the average loan is around £30,000.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the value is of the loans granted under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) has been introduced to help small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2000 and £50,000.
As of 5 July, 1,013,410 loans have been approved under the BBLS, with a total value of £30.93 billion. Banks are reporting that the average loan is around £30,000.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average amount is of loans issued under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) has been introduced to help small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2000 and £50,000.
As of 5 July, 1,013,410 loans have been approved under the BBLS, with a total value of £30.93 billion. Banks are reporting that the average loan is around £30,000.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many companies in each (a) industrial sector and (b) region of the UK have been awarded a loan under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
As of 5 July, 1,013,410 loans have been approved under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), with a total value of £30.93 billion.
At this time, we are unable to provide a breakdown of lending or number of applications by region or sector. The BBLS has been designed to be accessible across the UK and lenders have been accredited across the UK’s nations and regions.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to Procurement Policy Note 04/20: Recovery and Transition from COVID-19, published on 9 June 2020, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of maintaining the provision of contractual relief as a result of covid-19 in line with Procurement Policy Notice 02/20; which (a) companies and (b) work areas will be affected by changes to that contractual relief; and what the timeframe is for proposals to change that contractual relief.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Department will continue to provide contractual relief to suppliers where it is appropriate and in line with Procurement Policy Note 02/20** and 04/20*. We will continue to work constructively with each supplier on a case by case basis to determine the future of each contract, ensuring they are sustainable and achieving value for money.
We continue to review this process in line with the guidance issued in Procurement Policy Note 04/20*. Conversations with suppliers regarding the nature and extent of specific financial relief are ongoing. We consider company names and work areas to constitute commercially sensitive information which we cannot disclose.