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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to accredit more lenders to the Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

In order to offer the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), finance providers must be accredited by the Government-owned British Business Bank. Accrediting new lenders for the BBLS is a priority for the Bank. It is working at pace to accredit more lenders to further extend the scheme’s reach and provide more choice for businesses.

The Bank has put substantial additional resources in place to create a streamlined process to help onboard new lenders seeking accreditation.

There are currently 23 accredited lenders for the BBLS.