Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the Public Works Loan Board is a non-discretionary lender; and what consideration has been given to the potential merits of it assessing the purpose of a municipal loan application.

The assessment of Public Works Loan Board loan applications is the responsibility of each local authority’s Section 151 (finance) Officer, who must be satisfied that they are acting in line with statute and affordability considerations. This framework preserves the principle that local authorities are accountable to their electorates for their decisions. The Public Works Loan Board prevents its loans being used to fund purely commercial investments, but otherwise operates as a non-discretionary lender.