Economic Policies

Lord Sharkey Excerpts

Wednesday 4th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sassoon]

We are working extremely hard on the reforms that I have talked about to make sure that we have sustainable public finances and a more balanced economy.

[Lord Sharkey]

My Lords, the latest report from the Federation of Small Businesses shows, in the second quarter of this year, an increase to 73% in the number of small businesses finding access to credit difficult and an increase to 41% in refusals of credit applications. Given the Government’s efforts to provide funding for the banks to lend to businesses, can the Minister explain why this is so?

[Lord Sassoon]

My Lords, even though the latest business surveys show that private sector employment is significantly up and that manufacturing and service sector sales continue to grow, it is certainly the case that that is happening in the face of very tough financing conditions. That is why, among other things, the national loan guarantee scheme and the announcements from the Chancellor and the governor about the new funding for lending scheme, details of which will be put out in the coming weeks, were very important.