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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the current funding system for start-up companies.

The Start Up Loans Company, part of the British Business Bank, provides loans to new businesses of between £500 and £25,000 at a fixed interest rate of 6 per cent. Since 2012, the Start Up Loans programme has delivered over 98,000 loans across the UK, with a total value of over £913 million (September 2022).

At the Spending Review in 2021, my Rt. Hon. Friend the then Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an expansion of the scheme with funding for around 11,000 loans a year. Eligibility has also been enhanced, with access to Start Up Loans for businesses up to three years old and follow-on loans for businesses up to five years old.