Mike Gapes
Main Page: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)Department Debates - View all Mike Gapes's debates with the Department for Education
(11 years, 9 months ago)
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Vince Cable
It is never good when people lose their jobs, and I always regret that, but the simple fact is that in Wirral, as in other parts of the country, the number of public sector local and national Government jobs lost is far outweighed by the number of jobs created in the private sector; over 1 million have been created over the past two years.
Mike Gapes (Ilford South) (Lab/Co-op)
2. In how many months net lending to businesses has (a) increased and (b) fallen since January 2011.
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
12. In how many months net lending to businesses has (a) increased and (b) fallen since January 2011.
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)
Figures from the Bank of England show that between January 2011 and December 2012 lending to businesses by UK banks increased in six months, and decreased in the others. The Government and the Bank of England are working to increase lending across the economy, for example through the funding for lending scheme and the new business bank.
Mike Gapes
Over the last two years net lending has gone down by £28 billion. What is the Secretary of State doing about that, apart from his various failing piecemeal initiatives, which do not get to the nub of the problem? The problem is a lack of consumer confidence and the banks’ failure to lend enough because of their lending criteria. What is he going to do about that, so that he will have a better record in two years’ time?