Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what proportion of the British Business Banks’s economic capital limit has been earmarked specifically for (a) micro-businesses and (b) businesses in the devolved nations.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Secretary of State and the Chancellor have jointly set the British Business Bank a strategic mandate over the next five years. This includes a new mission to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK. While the mandate itself does not specify numbers, types of businesses, location, or sectors, the Bank has an excellent track record of addressing disparities in investment within the UK, with the Bank’s Impact report 24/25 showing that 24,000 businesses have newly benefited from finance supported by the Bank and 84% of businesses were outside London. The Bank will continue to report regularly on the impact of its interventions.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what targets the Government has set for the British Business Bank in respect of i) the number of smaller businesses to receive finance, ii) the amount of finance directed to devolved nations and regions, and iii) a list of sectors which benefit annually.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Secretary of State and the Chancellor have jointly set the British Business Bank a strategic mandate over the next five years. This includes a new mission to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK. While the mandate itself does not specify numbers, types of businesses, location, or sectors, the Bank has an excellent track record of addressing disparities in investment within the UK, with the Bank’s Impact report 24/25 showing that 24,000 businesses have newly benefited from finance supported by the Bank and 84% of businesses were outside London. The Bank will continue to report regularly on the impact of its interventions.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Government’s Statement of Strategic Priorities to the British Business Bank, what metric is to be used to measure the target for two-thirds increase in the pace of investment; when is the baseline for this measure; and when the Government expects this target to be met.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The metric used to measure the targeted increase is the total amount of finance, both debt and equity investment, committed by the Bank each year. This metric excludes guarantees. The new level of £2.5 billion in annual commitments - expected to be achieved from 2026/27 onwards - is a two-thirds increase from £1.5 billion expected in 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how the British Business Bank plans to measure and publish outcomes relating to its strategic objective to Unlock the potential in people and places, including how it will track and report the number of jobs created, regional investment disparities, and when those metrics will first be published.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The British Business Bank measures and publishes the outcomes of its interventions and its assessment of the market for small business finance in the UK across several publications:

• The Bank’s Annual Report and Accounts
• An annual Impact Report
• Independent evaluation reports on individual programmes, such as the Regions and Nations Investment Funds
• Research reports including an annual assessment of small business finance markets and a Nations and Regions Tracker

The next Small Business Finance Markets report is planned to be published in February/March 2026, with the Annual Report and Impact Report in July/August 2026.

Found: Informal introductory briefing by the National Audit Office Gareth Davies, Comptroller and Auditor

Found: Gareth Davies: Good morning. My name is Gareth Davies.

Found: Sincerely Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts Cc’ Gareth Davies

Found: Gareth Davies, Comptroller and Auditor General, National Audit Office, Jenny George, Director Justice

Found: The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Gareth Davies, is an Officer of the House of Commons and

Found: Gareth Davies Date 02 December 2025 Comptroller and Auditor General 2012 Child Maintenance Scheme

Found: Gareth Davies Date 02 December 2025 Comptroller and Auditor General National Audit Office 157-197 Buckingham

Found: Gareth Davies Date: 02 December 2025 Comptroller and Auditor General National Audit Office 157‑197 Buckingham

Found: Gareth Davies Date: 02 December 2025 Comptroller and Auditor General National Audit Office

Found: Gareth Davies Date 27 November 2025 Comptroller and Auditor General National Audit Office

Found: Gareth Davies 1 December 2025 104 Comptroller and Auditor General National Audit Office 157

Found: Gareth Davies 1 December 2025 104 Comptroller and Auditor General National Audit Office 157

Found: Gareth Davies 1 December 2025 Comptroller and Auditor General National Audit Office

Found: This description forms part of my certificate. www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities Gareth Davies

Found: membership: Alun Davies MS Welsh Labour Mick Antoniw MS Welsh Labour Heledd Fychan MS Plaid Cymru Gareth Davies

<p>Thank you very much for that. We'll turn now to questions from Gareth Davies.</p>

<p>Good afternoon and welcome to this afternoon's Plenary meeting. The first item on the agenda will be questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, and the first question is from Gareth Davies.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Good afternoon. Welcome to today's meeting of the Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport and International Relations Committee. We have received apologies from Lee Waters and Gareth Davies, and Alun Davies will be joining us at 1.30 p.m. Do any Members have any declarations of interest to make? No, I don't see that there are any.</p>