Business Grants

The request was partially successful.

Dear Chorley Borough Council,

I am lead to believe that Council/Government business loans have been issued to a number of "new" businesses in Chorley over the last five years or so, for ventures that lasted only a matter of months (or less).

I wish the council to furnish me with details of the number of business start-up loans issued by the authority since February 2013, how many of these businesses are still running and of the ones that folded - if the money was ever paid back to the council.

Yours faithfully,

Paul Topping

Contact, Chorley Borough Council

Thank you for your email.

 

We will deal with your enquiry as quickly as possible. You may find the
information you need on our website.

 

Kind Regards

 

Chorley Council

 

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foi, Chorley Borough Council

Dear Paul

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 REGARDING BUSINESS LOANS ISSUED TO NEW BUSINESSES IN CHORLEY OVER THE LAST 5 YEARS

OUR REFERENCE: FOI/18/087

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please quote the above reference number in all future correspondence.
I can confirm that we have received your request for information, and that it is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which requires us to respond to your enquiry within 20 working days of its receipt. You should therefore expect to receive a response by 8TH March 2018.

Please note that the information provided by Chorley Borough Council is intended for your personal use. If it is your intention to re-use the information for commercial gain, you will need to apply to the Council for a licence to re-use it, under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005.

Information on the regulations can be obtained from the Office of Public Sector Information and accessed directly on their website:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

FOI Department
Chorley Council

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Topping [mailto:[FOI #463626 email]]
Sent: 08 February 2018 12:46
To: Contact
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Business Grants

Dear Chorley Borough Council,

I am lead to believe that Council/Government business loans have been issued to a number of "new" businesses in Chorley over the last five years or so, for ventures that lasted only a matter of months (or less).

I wish the council to furnish me with details of the number of business start-up loans issued by the authority since February 2013, how many of these businesses are still running and of the ones that folded - if the money was ever paid back to the council.

Yours faithfully,

Paul Topping

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foi, Chorley Borough Council

Dear Paul

I am writing in response to your request for information under the terms
of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Ref No FOI/18/087.

Please find below, the details of your request and our response in blue.

 

 

Requested:

 

I am lead to believe that Council/Government business loans have been
issued to a number of "new" businesses in Chorley over the last five years
or so, for ventures that lasted only a matter of months (or less).

 

I wish the council to furnish me with details of the number of business
start-up loans issued by the authority since February 2013, how many of
these businesses are still running and of the ones that folded - if the
money was ever paid back to the council.

 

In responding to the request for new business start-up loan information,
data is collected by the Council for performance management purposes on
start-up businesses and this is provided below in response to the FOI
request. The survival rates of businesses are recorded on a 12 month and
24 month basis only. 

Through the business support service a Business Advisor is dedicated to
work with new start-businesses and this includes providing 1-2-1 support
to residents in their production of a business plan and cashflow
forecast.  Loans are only recommended for financial support, when these
documents are considered by the advisor to be satisfactory.  In this way
the level of risk to the Council is minimised.  However, it should be
noted that businesses fail for a number of reasons and this is not always
due to the actions of the business owner.  External factors, such as bad
debtors, supplier failures and delayed payments by customers can all have
an effect.    

 

Number of Businesses established with direct support from Chorley
Council’s Business Start-up Advisor

+-----------------------------------------------+
|2017/18 |50 (to date) |
|------------------------+----------------------|
|2016/17 |85 |
|------------------------+----------------------|
|2015/16 |97 |
|------------------------+----------------------|
|2014/15 |94 |
|------------------------+----------------------|
|2013/14 |117 |
|------------------------+----------------------|
|TOTAL |443 |
+-----------------------------------------------+

 

Business Start-Up –  Overall sustainability at 12 months and 24 months

As part of its Performance Data, the Council tracks the sustainability of
new start-ups (who the Council have supported with advice and/or funding)
at 12 months and 24 months after establishment.  The indicator is
calculated using the number of new starts still in operation during a
given reporting quarter, who have been operating for 12 or 24 months.  The
table below gives these statistics up to 2017/18 from 2013/2014 when the
performance recording commenced.

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|% sustained at 12 months |Quarter |% sustained at 24 months |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|2017/2018 |  |  |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|95.6 |Q1 |92.60 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|96.0 |Q2 |93.09 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|96.1 |Q3 |93.20 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|Not yet available |Q4 |Not yet available |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|  |  |  |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|2016/2017 |  |  |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|95.89 |Q1 |92.47 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|95.70 |Q2 |92.47 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|95.74 |Q3 |92.70 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|95.72 |Q4 |92.80 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|  |  |  |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|2015/2016 |  |  |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|95.63 |Q1 |92.71 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|95.95 |Q2 |92.97 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|96.10 |Q3 |93.41 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|96.19 |Q4 |93.33 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|  |  |  |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|2014/2015 |  |  |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|97.51 |Q1 |95.44 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|96.76 |Q2 |94.96 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|96.76 |Q3 |94.50 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|95.99 |Q4 |93.52 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|  |  |  |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|  |  |  |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|2013/2014 |  |  |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|97.51 |Q1 |95.44 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|96.76 |Q2 |94.96 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|96.76 |Q3 |94.50 |
|----------------------------+--------------+----------------------------|
|95.99 |Q4 |93.52 |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

These figures compare favourably  with the following regional/national
stats on the Office for National Statistics - ONS website  (the most
recent year for two year survival being  new-starts in 2014) as follows:

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  |Survival at 12 months |Survival at 24 months |
|---------------------+-------------------------+------------------------|
|2014 |  |  |
|---------------------+-------------------------+------------------------|
|Great Britain |92.2 |75.8 |
|---------------------+-------------------------+------------------------|
|North West |92.8 |75.9 |
|---------------------+-------------------------+------------------------|
|2013 |  |  |
|---------------------+-------------------------+------------------------|
|Great Britain |93.6 |75.2 |
|---------------------+-------------------------+------------------------|
|North West |94.1 |74.4 |
|---------------------+-------------------------+------------------------|
|2012 |  |  |
|---------------------+-------------------------+------------------------|
|Great Britain |91.2 |73.9 |
|---------------------+-------------------------+------------------------|
|North West |92.0 |74.2 |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

The key statistic is the survival rate at 24 months, which regionally and
nationally drops by almost 20% by year two.  Locally Chorley figures show
only a minimal drop between 12 and 24 months.

 

Number of Loans issued

Loans (maximum £500) are administered by Unify Credit Union on behalf of
the Council.  This loan scheme commenced in 2014/15. Loans are only
offered to new start businesses who are within the first six months of
trading.  Businesses have to produce a business plan and cashflow forecast
that meets with the satisfaction of the business advisor.  The Council and
Unify Credit Union make every effort to recoup any loans that default.  In
those cases where recovery cannot be made, it is often because the
business has ceased trading and there are no monies able to be recouped. 
It should be noted that not all the defaulted loans are for the full
amount of £500. Some of these are for partial amounts as the business
owner has made repayments before getting into difficulty. The table below
shows the number and value of loans defaulted which have been underwritten
by the Council.  The total percentage rate of these defaults, compared
with the total number of loans issued is 16%.

                 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  |No. of|Amount of|No. of Loans|Value of Loans |% of |
| |Loans |Loans |Defaulted |Defaulted |defaults|
| |Issued|Issued | | | |
|----------+------+---------+------------+----------------------+--------|
|2014/2015 |42 |£21,000 |7 |£2,699.96 |16% |
|----------+------+---------+------------+----------------------+--------|
|2015/2016 |42 |£21,000 |7 |£2,310.97 |16% |
|----------+------+---------+------------+----------------------+--------|
|2016/2017 |38 |£19,000 |6 |£2,458.33 |15% |
|----------+------+---------+------------+----------------------+--------|
|2017/2018*|- |- |- |- |- |
|----------+------+---------+------------+----------------------+--------|
|TOTAL |122 |£61,000 |20 |£7,469.26 |16% |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

*Loans not yet due

 

 

 

 

I hope the information provided here answers your enquiry.  If however,
you are unhappy with the outcome, or the way in which Chorley Council has
handled your request, you may wish to make an appeal.  This can be done in
writing to the Information Manager, Chorley Council, Civic Offices, Union
Street, Chorley, PR7 1AL, or by e-mail to: [1][email address]  clearly
stating your reasons for dissatisfaction.  Please quote the above
reference number in all correspondence.

 

If your appeal is either not upheld or you remain dissatisfied with our
decision, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner at:  Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF, or by e-mail to [2][email address].

Please note that the information provided by Chorley Borough Council is
intended for your personal use. If it is your intention to re-use the
information for commercial gain, you will need to apply to the Council for
a licence to re-use it, under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information
Regulations 2005.

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

Ally Lloyd
GDPR Compliance Officer
Chorley Council

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This e-mail and any attached files are confidential and may also be
legally privileged. They are intended solely for the intended addressee.
If they have come to you in error you must not use, copy or communicate
them to anyone. Please advise the sender and permanently delete the e-mail
and attachments. Please note that while Chorley Council has policies in
place requiring its staff to use e-mail in an appropriate manner, any
views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender may not
necessarily reflect the views of Chorley Council. Chorley Council may
monitor e-mails sent or received.

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