Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Lord Martin of Springburn Excerpts

Thursday 22nd November 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Martin of Springburn]

My Lords, credit unions in the poorest of our communities have an excellent record of helping redundant workers start up and become self-employed. Will the Government encourage the credit unions in this country?

[Lord Marland]

The noble Lord makes an excellent point. Of course the credit unions have a vital role to play, as does, funnily enough, anyone who is prepared to extend credit or lend money. As the noble Lord says, they do an incredibly valuable job in the slightly distressed regions.