Moved by
Lord Mitchell
6: After Clause 5, insert the following new Clause—
“Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Access to Finance
(1) The Secretary of State has a duty to conduct a review on alternative forms of finance available to small businesses as defined in section 33(2) and micro businesses as defined in section 33(3).
(2) The review should include, but is not limited to—
(a) an assessment of how the banking sector is catering to the finance needs of SMEs,
(b) current methods used by the Government and relevant organisations to encourage SME consideration of alternative forms of finance, and
(c) the extent to which alternative forms of finance have been used by SMEs.
(3) The Secretary of State shall release a report on the findings of this review and lay it before both Houses of Parliament within one year of the commencement of this Act.
(4) The Secretary of State may, by regulations, act on the findings of the review.”