Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has commissioned research from National Institute of Economic and Social Research in the last three years on (a) international lending rates and (b) levels international lending to SMEs.

The Department for Business and Trade has commissioned research on the alternatives to commercial lending in the SME Business Market. The research, undertaken by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, intends to study the characteristics of debt finance and lending markets within and outside the UK to identify market failures in the UK system and potential changes that could support businesses, especially SMEs.