To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many small businesses in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Worcestershire and (c) Redditch have benfited from the Funding for Lending Scheme.

The Bank of England publishes net lending data for the UK for each participating bank under the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) on a quarterly basis. Decisions about whether to lend to specific businesses in specific locations remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies.

In November 2013, the Government announced that the scheme extension will be re-focused on business lending, SMEs in particular. Recent evidence shows that credit conditions have improved significantly for businesses, including small businesses. Gross lending to SMEs was £4.49 billion (12%) higher in 2013 than in 2012.