Business: Buckingham and Bletchley
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what evaluation criteria will be used to assess the economic impact of the £11 billion lending support on businesses in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant
The package is a commitment from the UK’s top high-street banks to lend more to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) using UK Export Finance’s (UKEF’s) guarantee, to boost UK exports and economic growth. It signals to SMEs that want to export that there is a dedicated pool of capital available for them from lenders whom they trust.
Repayment of the loans will be managed by the respective banks, applying their regular criteria and processes. UKEF has robust legal agreements in place which set requirements regarding monitoring of potential defaults and making relevant recoveries.
While we have not made formal assessments of the economic impact of the SME Exporter Fund, last year UK Export Finance (UKEF) provided £14.5 billion of support to UK exporters, in turn supporting up to 70,000 jobs and contributing £5.4 billion to the economy.
Each bank has agreed to make the funds available across the whole of the UK. UKEF also has a network of export finance managers (EFMs) around the whole country who are valuable points of contact for local businesses and can provide information on the range of support available. Contact details for the EFM covering Buckingham and Bletchley, and others, can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-an-export-finance-manager
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