Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-23.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the bank referral scheme announced in the 2015 Budget in providing accessible finance to small and medium-seized enterprises.

Harriett Baldwin

The bank referral scheme is not yet up and running but the Government is committed to delivering this policy which will help small and medium sized enterprises access the finance they need to grow and expand.

Since the Government announced the Finance Platform policy at Budget 2014 significant progress on implementation has been made. The Government has consulted, passed primary legislation and is now close to making secondary legislation.

The British Business Bank is currently undertaking a due diligence process on Finance Platforms that have expressed an interest in becoming designated and will advise HM Treasury on designation in the Spring; with the policy expected to ‘go live’ later in 2016.