The loans announced by the Chancellor Alistair Darling last week, which were meant to help small and medium businesses find financing, have received a mixed response.
The loans, which come from the European Investment Bank, are thought to be worth around £4 billion and are aimed at providing short term help for struggling businesses, who are unable to get bank loans because of the credit-crunch.
“Naturally, we applaud support for small and medium sized businesses in what is a tough time globally. But there have been several government announcements of late aimed at helping business and we just need to get inside what it actually all means for companies on the ground.” Said Stephen Docherty, from the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.
“There need to be strong checks in place to ensure this money filters through to companies that need it most.”He added.
Liz Peace, the chief executive of the British Property Federation (BPF) was scathing in hjer criticism of the governments response to the economic crisis. She told the Independent that, "Now all the brakes are off and suddenly Brown is going to start doing, for economic reasons, what he should have been doing for development reasons years ago”.
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