Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a value for money study on the British Business Bank, in particular examining its impact on SMEs’ access to finance and its preparedness to respond to future challenges. The NAO report examines the impact of the British Business Bank on small-medium enterprises’ (SMEs) access to finance and its preparedness to respond to future challenges.
The British Business Bank was set up by BEIS to help make access to finance interventions more coherent and it has had some success in this area. The report says while it has an objective to act as a centre of expertise for providing advice and support to public bodies, it is not “the default” operator of government interventions. The report on the Bank says BEIS and HM Treasury should consider whether their statement in 2014 that the Bank would operate all national SME access to finance schemes across government still holds.
The British Business Bank has clear performance metrics and carried out an evaluation of its impact on SMEs. Overall, it has been performing well and SMEs have been growing as a result of its activities. However, the NAO says that this analysis will need to be ongoing as the value of many of the Bank’s interventions will only be known in the long-term and there is currently limited information on the cost-effectiveness of its activities.
Gareth Davies, the Head of the NAO, said “Government understands the importance of better co-ordination and coherence across the schemes it provides to business, but it still has some way to go before all the dots are joined up. More thorough evaluation of which schemes work best will help government plan and prioritise its support going forward.”
“The British Business Bank has performed well against its objectives. Government now needs to think carefully about the role it wants the Bank to play in the future, particularly after the UK leaves the European Union.
British Business Bank CEO, Keith Morgan, said:“We welcome the NAO’s findings that the British Business Bank has performed well against its objectives, enabling additional growth in UK SMEs as a result of our activities.”
“The NAO has provided a robust evidence base, culminating in a balanced report. As well as being an independent assessment of the Bank’s performance and impact to date, the report is valuable to us in that it provides a clear set of recommendations to enhance our business. This helps ensure that we are best prepared for future challenges, and supports the Bank in continuing to deliver and demonstrate value for money. To this end, we look forward to implementing the recommendations proposed.”
“Since its foundation five years ago, the British Business Bank has grown rapidly, and is currently supporting over £7bn of finance to more than 91,000 businesses. We have achieved this while generating positive returns for the taxpayer, delivering excess returns of £195m to the Exchequer to date and, as the NAO points out, maintaining current costs in line with industry benchmarks. The NAO’s report will help us build further on this track record as we continue to improve finance markets for UK SMEs.”
