Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses in (a) Rossendale and Darwen, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West have (i) applied to and (ii) been successful in their application to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

As of 30 April, £4.1 billion worth of loans to over 25,000 businesses have been issued across the UK under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Lenders have received over 52,000 completed applications.

At this time we cannot provide a breakdown of funding by region, as we have given lenders a temporary dispensation from uploading their data to the British Business Bank’s (BBB) system in order to let them focus on issuing new loans. This is a pragmatic step that reflects the urgency of getting loans issued. We are working with the BBB, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and lenders on regular and transparent data publication going forward.