Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the British Business Bank has accelerated accreditation for some existing lenders; and what steps his Department is taking to prevent fraudulent applications for such accreditation.

The Recovery Loan Scheme ensures businesses of any size can continue to access finance they need once the existing Covid-19 loan schemes close.

All lenders will be subject to an assessment of their proposals, and subject to usual British Business Bank governance around approvals. Existing accredited Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme lenders have been invited to apply for accreditation. An accelerated process, for some of these lenders, will ensure that a broad range of lenders is in place to offer facilities as soon as possible.