Panorama

Season 2009

Episode 8: Credit Where It's Due

Business dragon Theo Paphitis asks if the banks and the government are doing enough to help Britain's 4.7 million small businesses survive the recession. Providing jobs for some 13 million people, they are currently going bust at a rate of 120 a day, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. In a bid to stop the rot, the government says it has ordered the banks to be more supportive, but what is really happening? Are Britain's small firms are getting credit where it's due?