Source · Select Committees · Treasury Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Deferred
Paragraph: 95
Recovery Loan Scheme successful, with welcome extension and rebranding to Growth Guarantee Scheme.
Conclusion
The Recovery Loan Scheme appears to have been successful in supporting SMEs with access to finance throughout the pandemic and beyond. We welcome HM Treasury’s decision to extend and rebrand it into a “Growth Guarantee Scheme”, which can provide support to many more businesses seeking to access finance in the coming years.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government responded with a general statement about the importance of banking services and financial inclusion, rather than directly acknowledging the Committee's welcome for the new Growth Guarantee Scheme.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
95
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
HM Treasury and the BBB should consult on the merits of making the Growth Guarantee Scheme permanent, in order to provide a foundational support programme, which can be scaled up appropriately in a crisis. This would build long term security in the accessibility of finance for the SME population and provide a greater level of certainty. (Paragraph 96) 31. We agree with the Committee that the Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) scheme has an important role in supporting SMEs and driving growth. 32. GGS has supported over £5.3bn of finance to SMEs since its introduction in April 2021. Of the businesses supported by GGS more than 90% had fewer than 50 employees. More than half of the offered facilities were for growth capital for UK smaller businesses, with the majority of the remaining facilities for working capital. 33. The scheme also attracts a wide variety of lenders, including social lenders, Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs), and other specialist lenders which are aimed at underserved sections of the debt market. 34. The scheme has now been extended to the end of March 2026 and any decision regarding making the scheme permanent will be taken at Spending Review.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗