Written question asked by Charlotte Atkins (Labour) on Wednesday, 28 October 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 November 2009. It was answered by Ian Pearson (Labour) on Tuesday, 3 November 2009 on behalf of the Treasury.

Small Businesses

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent fiscal measures his Department has taken to support small businesses during the recession.

Answer: Support for small businesses has included extending loss relief, deferring the increase in corporation tax for small companies and helping businesses spread tax payments through the Business Payment Support Service. This service has now made over 220,000 agreements with business, worth almost £4 billion of tax.In addition, the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, by 28 October, had offered over 6,100 businesses loans totalling approximately £620 million.

Secondary information