Committees

Bounce Back Loans Scheme: Follow-up

Inquiry

In December 2020 the Committee published its first report on the “Bounce Back Loan” Scheme offered to registered - and unregistered - small businesses to help them get through and recover from Government-mandated closures and loss of business revenues during lockdown.

At that time the PAC concluded that billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money was at risk due to fraud in the 100% guaranteed loans, where even the most basic checks and assurances had been dropped in the name of getting the loans out quickly.

The Committee has since reported several times on failures in the Government’s balancing of risk and expedience across many of its Covid support schemes, but the National Audit Office has described the BBLS as “government’s largest and most risky business loan support scheme”. Official calculations and estimates of how much will be lost to fraud and default in the BBLS are ongoing.

In this follow up inquiry, the Committee will question senior officials at BEIS and the Treasury on what government is doing to protect public money in relation to the Scheme; how many loans were made by the time the Scheme closed; how many businesses have begun repaying loans; the counter-fraud activity taking place, and the levels of identified fraud; and the latest Scheme estimates of potential fraud and credit losses.

If you have evidence on any of these issues, please submit it here by Monday 3rd January 2022

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was 6:00pm on 3 January 2022.

Reports, special reports and government responses

View all reports and responses
Fiftieth Report - Bounce Back Loans Scheme: Follow-up
Inquiry Bounce Back Loans Scheme: Follow-up
Open PDF
346KB
Open HTML
Opens in new window
HC 951
Report
Response to this report
Correspondence from Louis Taylor, Chief Executive, British Business Bank, re Fiftieth Report of Session 2021-22, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Bounce Back Loans Scheme: Follow-up, dated 30 November 2023
Open PDF
359KB
Correspondence
Response to this report
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fiftieth report from Session 2021-22
Open PDF
205KB
Open web page
Opens in new window
HC 951
Government Response

Correspondence

View all correspondence
Correspondence from Sarah Munby, Permanent Secretary for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), re Treasury Minute Response – “Bounce Back Loans Scheme: Follow-up” (50th Report of Session 2021-22) 30 November 2022
Inquiry Bounce Back Loans Scheme: Follow-up
Open PDF
199KB
Correspondence
Correspondence from Sarah Munby Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, re PAC hearing on the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, dated 9 February 2022
Inquiry Bounce Back Loans Scheme: Follow-up
Open PDF
125KB
Correspondence
Correspondence from Catherine Lewis La Torre, Chief Executive, British Business Bank, re Bounce Back Loans, dated 27 January 2022
Inquiry Bounce Back Loans Scheme: Follow-up
Open PDF
273KB
Correspondence

Oral evidence transcripts

View all oral evidence transcripts
10 January 2022
Inquiry Bounce Back Loans Scheme: Follow-up
Open PDF
360KB
Oral Evidence

Written evidence

View all written evidence
Equifax Ltd (BLS0001)
Open PDF
18KB
Open HTML
18KB
College of Business, Law and Social Sciences, University of Derby, and Professor Paul Nightingale (Professor at Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School) (BLS0002)
Open PDF
129KB
Open HTML
129KB

Other publications

Government Responses
The Government has undertaken to respond to most committee reports within two months, although there are exceptions to this rule.
1 published

Contact us

We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone. Please be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints.