A MULTI-billion package of measures which could help unblock lending to small Hampshire firms struggling to access finance has been unveiled by the Government.

Business secretary Lord Mandelson said it was “crucial” that the Govern-ment acted now to provide help amid warnings that scores of smaller businesses were going bust every day.

The measures include a £10 billion working capital scheme, securing up to £20 billion of short-term bank lending to companies with a turnover of up to £500m.

The enterprise fund will be worth £75m, made up of £50m from the Government and the rest from banks and will be available for small firms which urgently needed equity. The Government also announced an enterprise finance guarantee scheme, securing up to £1.3 billion of additional bank loans to small firms with a turnover of up to £25m.

The Federation of Small Busin-esses welcomed the announcements, but warned it was a “last throw of the dice” to unblock lending from banks to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Lord Mandelson said: “UK companies are the lifeblood of the economy and it is crucial that Government acts now to provide real help to support them through the downturn and see them emerge stronger on the other side.

“We know that some companies are struggling to secure the finance they need, not because of any failure in their business but due to the tougher credit conditions. Their business models are not flawed, but the credit crunch has drastically reduced the amount of capital available, and banks have tightened their lending criteria. We have designed a package of measures addressing different forms of credit.”