Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord James of Blackheath (Conservative). It was answered on Monday, 21 January 2008.

Refugees: Loans

Question: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for that response, but does he not share a little of my disappointment at the apparent lack of take-up of this facility? It struck me at the time as one of the most enlightened and intelligent pieces of regulation put through by this Government. It shone out like a good deed in a naughty world. I hoped it would have had a much bigger take-up than we have seen. What percentage of the number of applications received might that figure be, assuming that they have all taken £1,000 per head, which was allowed? How many have been declined?

Answer: My Lords, the noble Lord is absolutely right: this was a very good scheme, debated in the House, and we expected a much higher rate of take-up. This has been accelerating since last June, when the scheme initially came in. So far we have had 562 applications, of which 198—that is, 35 per cent—have received a loan. A number are awaiting receipt of signed loan agreements. It is not quite clear why there has not been bigger take-up, because this is very useful in enabling those who, almost by definition, are disadvantaged to integrate into our society.

Secondary information