Up to £290m awarded under govt lending scheme

Date: 24th April 2009

Up to £290 million in lending has been granted under the government's Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme, it has been revealed.

That is according to the department for business, which has asserted that it is doing all it can to help the UK's small enterprise sector through the recession.

The claim comes on the back of this week's budget speech, when Chancellor Alistair Darling unveiled a string of new support policies, including taxation relief for loss-making firms and £5 billion of additional trade credit insurance.

Peter Mandelson, business secretary, said: "These measures continue to show that government is providing real and targeted support to those businesses which need it most."

Mr Mandelson added that businesses were the "lifeblood of our economy" and he was determined to support the sector through the recession.

As part of Wednesday's (April 22nd) budget speech, Mr Darling predicted that the UK economy would return to positive growth next year.