MP welcomes council’s Small Business Loan Fund
15th March 2012
James Morris welcomes Dudley council’s £1 million Small Business Loan Fund and calls for a Parliamentary debate on how local initiatives can help drive jobs and business growth.
James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con): Conservative-led Dudley Council has launched a £1 million Small Business Loan Fund. Given the figures that were published yesterday showing that 60,000 more people were in work in the west midlands than at the time of the election, could we have a debate on how local initiatives can help to drive jobs and business growth?
Sir George Young: We can indeed have such a debate: on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and—[Hon. Members: “Saturday?”] No, not Saturday—on Monday. We are doing everything we can to support businesses through this difficult time, and I was interested to hear about what is happening in Dudley. We also have the business growth fund of £2.5 billion—a bank-led investment scheme without any Government money—investing in businesses across the country in return for a 10% equity stake. My hon. Friend might like to promote that scheme in his constituency.
