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  David - yes we need fiscal responsibility, absolutely right, but we also need growth to help bridge the deficit and stop more and more debt piling up as it all cannot be done with spending cuts alone.
  
  Split borrowing by businesses from borrowing by government, one can be helpful while the latter happens to be part of the problem.
  
  Howard - the real problem here is that a fallacy is being expounded on small business lending.
  .... Businesses are not borrowing because many have been building up cash reserves and clearing down existing debt. This is the same thing many individuals have done and is a sensible response to difficult times when survival is at stake. This therefore means that 'net lending to businesses' is down if you look at the figures.
  .... Banks are lending to businesses but those businesses who get turned down, often for good reasons - a poor business plan - poor credit record - structural business problems, will often complain while the banks are not able to respond with the reasons for that in individual cases. The fact is that there is a difference between borrowing to expand and borrowing to survive in bad times and both types of pending has to be judged by the banks as a business case. As I have said a lot of the problems we have were brought about by poor lending practices in the first place.
  
  We need to get entrepreneurs to expand their businesses with new product lines and development and start new businesses. There is cheap funding available for this provided a good and viable business plan is forthcoming so bank lending is there as is 'business angel' funding. DDCoC has helped at the business clinics find business angel funding for some projects incidentally. But of course, this lending must be done on a responsible basis.
  
  The problem is elsewhere and is in respect of a range of issues: but the big one is ... Confidence, or lack of it - that really is the big killer. The economic environment created by the Eurozone crisis and the pressure on key export markets are a massive disincentive to expand. It is this that is causing business to conserve cash as a matter of survival and survival is for many businesses the name of the game.
  
  If businesses do not want to borrow and are worried about the environment for expansion then you cannot make the do so.
  
  This is why the government needs to make supply-side reforms to encourage business expansion and to boost confidence. At the same time as 'de-risking' the employment market. This is a matter of leadership, tax cuts aimed at incentivising business expansion, planning reform and so on are all essential. We have seen Cable block such supply side reforms and his idea is like trying to push a rope uphill instead of pulling it.
  
  More public spending cuts are needed for this so deficit reduction can go hand in hand with the tax cuts. This is also being blocked by Cable and his cohorts.

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