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Latest Growth Fund Statistics
20 June 2008
Below are the headline Growth Fund statistics for the period from July 2006 to May 2008:
- The total number of applications received for Growth Fund loans was 96,811. From these, 80,993 loans were approved and payment made to a total value of £36,595,481.
- 14,385 loan applications were refused by contractors and 1,433 were withdrawn by customers – 17% of applications. It should also be noted that an unspecified number of people who have no capacity to repay a loan are identified early in the reception process and do not make it into this data set because the cost of collecting the data reliably is prohibitive.
- Of the total approved loans:
- 71,127 (88%) totalling £31,980,766 have been made in England;
- 4,727 (6%) totalling £2,135,418 have been made in Scotland; and
- 5,139 (6%) totalling £2,479,298 have been made in Wales.
- The overall average loan value to date is £452, which sits comfortably between the £300-£600 target bands.
- Customers who took out a Growth Fund loan between July 2006 and May 2008 and opened a Bank Account at the same time numbered 7,399 (9%).
Updated figures will appear regularly on this website.
Definition of Low Income – revised figures
12 June 2008
We have increased the amounts used to define low income by 5%. Please use the following figures from today:
- Single person £136
- Single person with 1 child £186
- Single person with 2 children £238
- Single person with 3 children £288
- Single person with 4 children (or more) £339
- Couple £239
- Couple with 1 child £289
- Couple with 2 children £340
- Couple with 3 children £392
- Couple with 4 children (or more) £442
Income levels shown on the list are made up of all net income received into a household, including all earned income, benefit income and tax credits, but excluding:
- Child Benefit
- Disability Living Allowance
- Attendance Allowance (regardless of whether it is paid in respect of an adult or a child)
- Mobility allowance (regardless of whether it is paid as cash or a Motability car)
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax Benefit
- DWP funded mortgage interest payment
These figures are indicative, and should not be applied rigidly. Income is not the sole factor to take into account. We recognise that there may be some applicants with household incomes that vary from these amounts who are still readily identifiable as financially excluded. It may be appropriate to approve a loan from your Growth Fund capital for them. Use the list as a prime indicator of whether or not an applicant may qualify for a loan.
Loans made to cases where income is above these rates should be the exception rather than the norm, and you will need to provide a well documented explanation to support the decision.