Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the roll-out of a pilot No Interest Loan Scheme in Northern Ireland.

The Government has provided £3.8 million of funding to Fair4All Finance to pilot the No Interest Loan Scheme, which will help consumers in vulnerable circumstances to access affordable credit. These loans will be administered by Credit Unions, Community Development Finance Institutions and other lending organisations. HM Treasury are working with Fair4All Finance to facilitate the launch of the pilot in Northern Ireland and my officials will support HM Treasury in exploring the prospect of a quicker rollout in Northern Ireland.