Saturday, July 18, 2009
MPs astounded at delays in supporting motor industry
The Government has been criticised by the House of Commons business and enterprise select committee for dragging its heels in guaranteeing loans for the UK’s automotive sector.
Despite stating Jaguar Land Rover was a “top priority”, the Government has still failed to grant a single penny in loans from the £2.3bn Automotive Assistance Programme, almost six months since it was launched.
The committee said Jaguar Land Rover had already secured European Investment Bank funding yet it was “astounded” that it has taken so long for the UK Government to put its own guarantee in place.
“It is clear that the Government has taken a number of sensible steps to make the AAP successful. It is working with a wide range of people within the industry, it has not forgotten the need to reach the supply chain, and it is trying to involve the banks in the scheme.
“However, we cannot discount the industry’s complaints about the delays in agreeing support measures and we are profoundly disappointed that to date not one single penny has been advanced through the scheme. We hope that this will change rapidly,” states the committee’s report, The Automotive Industry in the UK, published today.
DATED: 18.07.09
FEED: AM
