FINANCE issues affecting Wrexham’s small businesses and construction companies have been raised by MP Ian Lucas at meetings in Parliament.
Mr Lucas met with both Welsh representatives from Lloyds bank and the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) Business, Innovation and Skills Group to discuss banking, finance and access to funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and construction firms.
During the meeting with Lloyds Mr Lucas and other MPs raised concerns that small businesses in their constituencies were having trouble accessing finance.
Mr Lucas said: “I told Lloyds of cases in my constituency where small businesses and construction firms had advised me they were having difficulties raising finance.
“During meetings with small to medium-sized local companies, including construction companies, issues over banks lending have arisen several times in recent months.
“They advised me they would look further into the concerns and come back to me.”
Mr Lucas, a former business minister, also discussed access to finance at a PLP meeting, including the role of alternative banking models such as Metrobank in the UK and German Sparkassen – a kind of savings bank.
Mr Lucas said: “Recent years have shown us our current banking system – and the way it reacts to business concerns – needs looking at again.
“I am examining the role of finance and how it relates to issues such as construction and housing, and I hope to raise these issues more widely in the coming weeks.”