Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase access to capital for businesses based in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

The Government is committed to ensuring that businesses across the UK, including in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire, can access the capital they need to grow. Working with the British Business Bank (BBB), we are delivering a range of targeted interventions, including through loan guarantee programmes and equity investments, designed to address regional funding gaps and unlock investment opportunities.

Businesses in Staffordshire and Newcastle-under-Lyme are already benefitting from the £400 million Midlands Engine Investment Fund II (MEIF). It is increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for smaller businesses across the Midlands and providing funds to businesses that might otherwise not receive investment and helping to break down barriers in access to finance.

In addition, as announced this week, the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme has now provided over £60 million in lending in the North East. The Bank will also host a ‘Meet the Investor’ event in partnership with Tech UK in Newcastle on 11 November to help connect SMEs with potential investors.

Businesses in these areas also benefit from national programmes such as the Regional Angels Programme, Future Fund: Breakthrough and British Patient Capital. The recent Spending Review increased the Bank’s total capacity to £25.6 billion, which supports a broad range of regional and growth programmes and will enable annual investments of around £2.5bn to support more high-growth and innovative UK SMEs up and down the UK.