Asked by: Laura Farris (Conservative - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of scrutiny of the lending practices of Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme lenders.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) operates as a delegated scheme, so all lending decisions are at the discretion of the lender. However, lenders are required to agree to and adhere to the Scheme’s Legal agreement.
Furthermore, all CBILS accredited lenders must undergo thorough due diligence as part of the British Business Bank’s accreditation process. Thereafter, lenders undergo periodic audits (including an audit prior to moving from a probationary to a full lender under the Scheme) to check that scheme eligibility rules and processes have been followed. The British Business Bank can suspend a lender from new lending or remove its accreditation if it is not following the correct lending practices.
Asked by: Laura Farris (Conservative - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment she has made of the appropriateness of the level of rates paid to residents under the Smart Export Guarantee scheme.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Smart Export Guarantee has been successful in bringing forward a range of competitive offerings to the market. Renewable generators now have a several tariffs to choose from, in some cases higher than the FIT export tariff.
Ofgem will prepare an annual report on the provisions made by suppliers for smaller scale exporters. The government will review this to monitor whether the market is delivering an effective and competitive range of options.