Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy in the level of availability of private sector green finance for business energy efficiency projects.

The Government recognises the importance of green finance as it is one of the fastest growing sub-sectors of a low carbon economy.

The British Business Bank’s Green Growth Guarantee helps increase the supply of affordable finance for businesses investing in green technologies, by giving lenders confidence to support finance for green assets or lower the up-front cost of that finance.

Small businesses across the UK benefitted from Government funding and support to help them invest in sustainability, to cut their operating costs and boost their business. A recent £2m Made Smarter Adoption Programme initiative helped SMEs lower their bills and become more energy efficient through investment in technology in areas like heating, insulation and solar power. The Government will continue to review support for business energy efficiency projects.