Government loans kick-start over 150 local businesses

Enfield MPs welcomed new figures which show the Government’s Start-Up Loans scheme has so far provided almost £570,000 to 100 new businesses in Enfield North, and almost £330,000 to 55 businesses in Enfield Southgate.  This is helping create jobs in Enfield at start-up businesses like ‘Just Bridesmaids’ in Southgate.  Across the UK more than 20,000 Start-Up Loans, worth over £100 million, have been awarded to help new businesses get going. The Government is now two thirds of the way towards supporting 30,000 new businesses with £151 million by 2015. 

The Start-Up loans have already provided Enfield North with £567,056 to help 100 local businesses get started, while £329,510 went into kick-starting 55 businesses in Enfield Southgate. The loans are delivered by Enterprise Enfield, who guide entrepreneurs through the loan application process with advice and training, in partnership with North London Credit Union.     

Nick de Bois said: 

“This is great news. It shows that the Start-Up Loans scheme is giving entrepreneurs in Enfield the finance they need to kick-start and grow their businesses. 

So far 100 loans, worth almost £570,000, have been made in Enfield North to help people put their business ideas into practice, supporting some fantastic new enterprises in the local area. 

I am very pleased that the Government is backing local businesses. This means more jobs and opportunities for my constituents, with further loans still to come.”  

David Burrowes said: 

“My constituents will be aware of my ongoing support for local businesses and I am delighted to see that 55 new businesses have opened up in my constituency thanks to Government funding. 

This shows once more that the Government is on the side of local businesses and continuing to tackle the issue of unemployment on a local and national level.”

Over 20,000 Start-Up Loans, worth more than £100 million, have now been awarded. The Prime Minister announced the 20,000th loan in July. The scheme aims to support 30,000 new businesses with £151 million by 2015 (BIS press release, 30 July 2014, link). 

This is in addition to other measures to support small businesses with lower taxes and less red-tape:

• £2,000 off National Insurance – a tax on jobs – for business. Our Employment Allowance has cut the jobs tax of every business by up to £2,000. This means 450,000 small businesses – that’s one third of all employers – will pay no jobs tax at all in 2014/15. We’re also abolishing the jobs tax on under 21s from April 2015 – making it easier for businesses to employ young people (HMT, Budget 2013).

• 360,000 small firms paying no business rates at all because of our doubling of rate relief. From October 2010 to April 2015 small business rate relief has been doubled – helping more than half a million small firms, with an estimated 360,000 small firms paying no rates at all (HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, 5 December 2013).

• Scrapping red tape will save businesses £850 million year – helping free businesses to grow. For every new regulation, we are scrapping two through the Red Tape Challenge – a process that is getting rid of or amending over 3,000 regulations (No 10 Press Release, 27 January 2014, link).

• £4 billion of funding through the Business Bank, as part of a wider package to help firms access finance. Our Funding for Lending programme is giving banks a clear incentive to lend more money to businesses, and the Business Bank has so far delivered £1.56 billion of lending and investment to over 30,000 businesses (BIS, British Business Bank, 26 June 2014, link).