George Osborne to unveil £20bn business loans scheme
George Osborne to unveil £20bn business loans scheme
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Sunday, 27, Nov 2011 08:47
By Jamie Smith
Small businesses are to be given a boost in the coming days as the chancellor George Osborne is set to unveil a lending scheme worth £20 billion to help them.
In his autumn statement to be delivered next week, the Conservative MP will reveal the new credit easing scheme, which involves underwriting banks' borrowing.
This will supposedly enable them to offer small business loans with lower interest rates and lead to growth in the private sector.
But shadow chancellor Ed Balls said this is not going to be enough to restore confidence among companies that have been struggling as a result of the after-effects of the recession.
He and shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna wrote a letter to the Treasury pointing out that more than 1,000 people a day are entering unemployment at the present time.
"Access to credit will not in itself restore the confidence of business to invest. The country urgently needs a plan for growth and jobs," it said in the note.
Earlier this month, a study from pension consultancy firm Hargreaves Lansdown found small and medium-sized enterprises could be affected by costs of between £253 million and £323 million due to the introduction of new regulations from the Financial Services Authority.