David Nuttall
Main Page: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)(12 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
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Vince Cable
The gap between north and south, which is of course a good deal more complex than the hon. Gentleman suggests—there are parts of the north that do extremely well—has been widening for many years, in spite of the regional development agencies. I am absolutely satisfied that the structures we have introduced, the local enterprise partnerships, are more relevant to local geography, much more business focused and, together with the city deals, will give an energy to the development of some of the areas which have been struggling that they have not had for many years.
Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)
Does the Secretary of State share my concern that all too often viable small businesses are refused loans by high street banks simply because they operate within a sector of which the banks have taken a negative view?
Vince Cable
The hon. Gentleman is right. As I said in my brief introduction, there is a serious and declining trend in business lending to SMEs. He is also right that certain kinds of businesses find borrowing extremely difficult. Creative industries are a good example, because they do not have physical security and the banks are extremely risk-averse, which of course is difficult for companies engaged in international trade. That is all the more reason why the Government have to intervene to support lending in such instances.