Government must get banks lending for firms to invest in recovery

Liberal Democrat Shadow Business Secretary, John Thurso, commented on last week’s figures from the Office for National Statistics, showing that investment by British businesses was 24.1% lower at the end of 2009 than at the start, the worst decline since records began:

“This dramatic slump in business investment bodes ill for economic recovery.

“Banks are failing to meet their lending commitments, starving businesses of capital needed for investment.

“The Government needs to get a grip and make sure the banks’ lending agreements are more concrete and better policed so that recovery doesn’t peter out.”