Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when the Government plans to publish its response to Lawrence Tomlinson's report on the lending practices of banks to small businesses.

The matter is being taken forward by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which has appointed firms to conduct an independent “skilled persons” review of RBS’s treatment of business customers in financial difficulty and the allegations of poor practice set out in Lawrence Tomlinson’s report. The review is complex and is still ongoing. The FCA expects to make an announcement about the outcome of the review later this year.