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Regional Development Agency

I return to my point about the capital for enterprise scheme and the fact that the Government have been working with the European Investment Bank to help UK banks negotiate new credit lines. Under the "more time to pay tax bills" scheme, the new business payment support service sets out an affordable timetable in which viable businesses in temporary financial difficulty can pay their tax bills to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. In Gloucestershire, more than 1,800 businesses have been given agreements to delay the payment of tax worth some £27 million. That will help businesses deal with any cash-flow problems. The Government have provided all sorts of other help through a range of different agencies. It is vital that businesses continue to invest in skills to survive the recession and prepare for the upturn. To support that, the Government have expanded apprenticeships; there will be more than 250,000 starts nationally next year. The Government have increased the training support available to unemployed people. They have provided £100 million for 40,000 extra places on employability programmes for those who are unemployed or under notice of redundancy; and £83 million for 75,000 high-quality training places for those claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than six months to help them back into sustainable employment. Train to Gain also provides continuing support, with £925 million invested for 2009-10, and new support for small and medium-sized enterprises only. In respect of Train to Gain and the Business Link, as part of the Government's Solutions For Businesses initiative—