Context
The Department published a trade strategy on June 26, expanding UK Export Finance's capacity to £80 billion. This includes measures for smaller firms to have better access to export protection insurance.
Question
Innovative high-growth companies such as Envisics in Bletchley are developing and exporting world-leading technology-driven products but face difficulties securing the domestic capital needed to scale up. Too often, overseas investors and sometimes governments offer both finance and other incentives for them to relocate. Will the Minister set out in more detail how his Department is working across Whitehall to ensure that domestic financial institutions, including Government-backed entities, are helping companies like Envisics to firmly anchor their innovations here in the UK?
Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)
We heard during our SME consultation that one of the biggest issues facing small and medium-sized businesses that want to scale up relates to access to finance. Indeed, since 2011, the stock of bank lending to SMEs relative to GDP has fallen by around 50%, which graphically demonstrates the significance of my hon. Friend’s point. We have been working closely with Treasury colleagues in particular, and when we launched the industrial strategy, we also launched a funding arrangement for the British Business Bank that will provide £4 billion of capital to our high-growth innovative businesses to ensure that they remain anchored in the UK and are able to scale up here.
Was this summary accurate? Tell us
How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)