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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will expand the support available through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to provide additional capital to social impact financiers.

Accredited Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) lenders offer a wide range of business finance products including term loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance. Existing lenders range from high-street banks to challenger banks, asset-based lenders and specialist local lenders. Currently there are 15 accredited lenders that are Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs).

In order to offer this scheme, finance providers must be accredited by the Government-owned British Business Bank. The British Business Bank has put in place substantial additional resource to accredit new CBILS lenders as quickly as possible, which will further widen the choice of finance options for smaller businesses.