questionText: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises.
answerText: The British Business Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets Report 2026 found that around half of SMEs used external finance in 2025. SME lending increased between 2024 and 2025 – reaching £68 billion in nominal terms – but remains below pre-pandemic level...
heading: Small Businesses: Finance