Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Investment Fund for Scotland applications have been (a) received and (b) approved for each of the funds administered by (i) DSL Business Finance, (ii) FSE Group and (iii) Maeven; and what was the average time taken to consider a funding application by (A) DSL Business Finance, (B) FSE Group and (C) Maeven.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The £150 million Investment Fund for Scotland was launched in November 2023 and provides debt and equity finance to Scottish businesses. Similar funds are available in Wales, Northern Ireland, and three regions of England. As at November 2024, the Investment Fund for Scotland had provided over £10 million of finance to 26 businesses. Updated information will be published by September 2025. The British Business Bank does not publish information on numbers of applications received or hold information on time taken to review applications. All investment decisions are taken by the fund managers who analyse the application and complete due diligence.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much has been allocated from the Investment Fund for Scotland to businesses to date; and what estimate he has made of the amount that will be allocated in each year of the Fund's operation.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
A total of £150 million has been committed to the Investment Fund for Scotland. Three fund managers have been contracted to provide £110 million of this total in debt and equity finance to small businesses. The British Business Bank has retained the remaining £40 million in reserve, which will be allocated during the life of the fund depending on market conditions and fund performance. The funding has initially been split approximately 45% to equity and 55% to debt. The expectation is that the funding will be fully deployed during the first five years.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the Investment Fund for Scotland management fees paid to (a) DSL Business Finance, (b) FSE Group and (c) Maeven (i) to date and (ii) during the life of the Fund.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank routinely commissions independent evaluations of its programmes to quantify their impact and an overall assessment of performance and value for money. An interim evaluation of the Investment Fund for Scotland (IFS) programme is expected to be commissioned during the first five years of the Fund’s operation. Fees paid to individual managers is commercially sensitive information and therefore not able to be published.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what guidance his Department has issued on ensuring that consumers receive compensation when (a) a business enters liquidation and (b) there is evidence to suggest that business has knowingly defrauded customers prior to liquidation.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
If a business enters formal insolvency, consumers can refer to the guidance on the UK government's website (Gov.UK) for information on recovering their money for undelivered goods or services. The guidance advises consumers to contact their card provider to request a refund or, alternatively, submit a claim to the insolvency office holder. If there is evidence of misconduct by the insolvent business, it should be reported to the insolvency office holder, who will investigate and if necessary take appropriate action.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for arms export licences of the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for (a) Benjamin Netanyahu and (b) Yoav Gallant.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK respects the independence of the International Criminal Court in investigating the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
We have been clear that all parties must comply with International Humanitarian Law and take every possible step to minimise harm to civilians. The relevant licences remain suspended and the Government’s IHL assessment process continues to gather information from a wide range of sources, including statements from the UN, NGOs, and other organisations.