Business: Loans
(asked on 2nd January 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what comparative assessment his Department has made of levels of lending to (a) rural and (b) other businesses.
Answered by
Blair McDougall
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This question was answered on 7th January 2026
Bank of England data describes lending to different types of businesses, broken down by business size and sector. It does not provide regional breakdowns, which precludes comparing lending across rural and other businesses.
The British Business Bank (BBB) administers access to finance schemes which support businesses across the UK, including rural businesses.
- In 2024/25, 84% of the businesses supported by the BBB were based outside of London.
- In 2025, the BBB agreed an ENABLE Guarantee with agricultural lender, Rural Asset Finance, supporting a portfolio of up to £120m to smaller rural businesses across the agricultural sector in the UK.