Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to establish a United Kingdom Investment Bank.

The government has a strong institutional structure in place to make sure UK businesses can access the finance they need for key investment projects.

The British Business Bank improves access to finance for small and medium-size businesses. As of end-January 2017, British Business Bank programmes have supported more than £8.5bn of finance to more than 54,000 businesses.

The UK Guarantees Scheme provides a Treasury-backed guarantee for infrastructure bonds and loans to avoid delays to investment in UK infrastructure projects. It works by providing a sovereign-backed guarantee to help projects access finance. At Autumn Statement the government committed to keep the scheme open until at least 2026.

London is also the world’s premier international financial centre, being home to over 250 foreign banks, more than any other financial centre. This allows private banks to lend to a wide range of businesses smoothly and efficiently.