Business: Government Assistance
Wales
Written answers and statements, 12 October 2009
Paul Murphy (Torfaen, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what schemes the Government have made available to assist businesses in Wales during the economic downturn.
Peter Hain (Secretary of State, Wales Office; Neath, Labour)
The UK Government have launched a number of initiatives designed to help UK businesses during the current economic downturn. These include the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme, Capital for Enterprise Fund and the highly successful HMRC Time to Pay, which are all supporting Welsh businesses. So far, the HMRC has reached over 6,780 agreements with businesses in Wales, to spread more than £100 million in businesses taxes. More information on these schemes can be obtained from the BIS, Wales Office and Welsh Assembly Government websites.
The European Investment Bank has also approved nearly £475 million of loans to small and medium sized enterprises across the UK.