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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish the final report on the innovation loans pilot programme; and with reference to the press release of 21 November 2021, what criteria were used to assess that programme.

The Follow-On Interim Evaluation of the Pilot Innovation Loans Programme will be published shortly.

The pilot programme’s interim evaluation has focused on:

1. What is the interest in, and demand for, Innovation Loans?

2. What is the nature of the businesses applying, and the projects which form the focus of the applications for funding?

3. What would have happened to the innovation projects supported if they had not been offered these loans?

4. How effective are the processes of implementation and what are the experiences of the customer journey?

5. What evidence is there of progress towards the achievement of intended outputs, outcomes, and impacts?