Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with reference to the press release issued by UK Export Finance entitled UK Export Finance and British Business Bank to launch joint scheme to support thousands of smaller exporters, published on 12 July 2026, what criteria will be used to determine eligibility for the joint SME export finance scheme.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) and the British Business Bank (BBB) are working together to develop a new joint scheme to support smaller exporters, as announced on 12 July 2026.

The scheme remains in development, and detailed eligibility criteria have not yet been finalised. UKEF and the BBB are working closely with lenders and other relevant stakeholders to develop the scheme and determine eligibility criteria, with the aim of making support accessible to a broad range of smaller UK businesses.

Final eligibility criteria will be confirmed and published with the scheme's launch in Spring 2027.