Parliamentary questions tabled by shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna have revealed that the £5bn Export Refinancing Scheme is not yet operational, while the £1.5bn Direct Lending Scheme has received only 15 inquiries and only one firm has applied for support.
The Export Refinancing Scheme was supposed to be up and running by the end 2012 having been announced in the July of that year. The Direct Lending Scheme was announced in the 2012 Autumn Statement.
Umunna said: ‘Ministers promised an export-led recovery, but the truth is they are badly letting down British business.
‘Scheme after scheme which were supposed to help more firms export have failed to have any impact whatsoever, and now we learnt that two programmes which were announced to great fanfare two years ago haven’t helped a single firm.’
According to official statistics cited by Labour, the UK’s trade deficit more than trebled in recent months, with exports of goods falling in the three months to January. Exports of goods to countries outside the European Union were down more than those within the economic bloc.
A government spokeswoman said: 'Steps were announced at budget to make both programmes more accessible to businesses, helping them realise their export potential.'
