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1. Main facts and figures
- between 2013 and 2017, almost 53,000 people received a Start Up Loan
- in the same period, the rate of Start Up Loans fell from 3.3 per 10,000 economically active people (10,366 loans) to 2.7 per 10,000 people (8,895 loans); a decrease was seen in every ethnic group except the White and Other groups
- people from the Black and Mixed ethnic groups were considerably more likely to receive a Start Up Loan than people from other ethnic groups, while Asian people were least likely to receive a Start Up Loan
Things you need to know
Start Up Loans were first awarded in 2012. They were specifically designed to support people from disadvantaged social groups to start or grow a business. Evidence suggests people from these groups have difficulty getting loans from more traditional sources. Although start-up loans were available from 2012, the vast majority of loans were awarded from 2013 onwards, and so data are not provided for 2012 due to low counts.
In the early years of the scheme, promotion was targeted at people from the Black and Mixed ethnic groups. This is reflected in the rates for 2013 and 2014.
The information for the economically active population aged 18 and over is taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS).
The APS is a ‘sample survey’. It collects information from a random sample of the population to make generalisations (reach 'findings') about the total population.
As with all surveys, the estimates from the APS are subject to a degree of uncertainty as they are based on a sample of the population. The degree of uncertainty is greater when the number of respondents is small, so it will be highest for ethnic minority groups.
Recipients of Start Up Loans report their own ethnicity. In 2017, 8% of recipients did not report their ethnicity. Rates are not calculated for this group as the proportion of those not reporting their ethnicity is inconsistent with the group who did not report their ethnicity in the APS (which was only 0.06% of APS respondents).
What the data measures
This data measures the number of Start Up Loans for every 10,000 people in the economically active population, broken down by ethnic group.
The economically active population in this data includes people aged 18 and over who are either employed, or unemployed and looking for work. A person is counted as unemployed if all 3 of the following apply:
- they are out of work
- they are available to start work in the next 2 weeks
- they have either been actively looking for work in the past 4 weeks or have found a job and are waiting to start it
A person is not counted as economically active if they are caring for family or retired, or they are in full-time education and not in paid work
The ethnic categories used in this data
For this data, the number of people from specific ethnic categories who received Start Up Loans was too small to draw any firm conclusions. Therefore, the data is broken down into the following 5 broad groups:
- Asian
- Black
- Mixed
- White (including White ethnic minorities)
- Other
2. By ethnicity over time
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | 2013 Loans per 10,000 | 2013 New Loans | 2014 Loans per 10,000 | 2014 New Loans | 2015 Loans per 10,000 | 2015 New Loans | 2016 Loans per 10,000 | 2016 New Loans | 2017 Loans per 10,000 | 2017 New Loans |
| All | 3.3 | 10,366 | 4.6 | 14,765 | 3.0 | 9,784 | 2.8 | 9,095 | 2.7 | 8,895 |
| Asian | 3.1 | 594 | 2.8 | 566 | 1.7 | 344 | 1.8 | 386 | 1.6 | 355 |
| Black | 26.9 | 2,301 | 15.9 | 1,401 | 8.2 | 796 | 7.0 | 691 | 5.7 | 549 |
| Mixed | 14.0 | 437 | 24.9 | 809 | 14.0 | 458 | 10.0 | 357 | 7.5 | 289 |
| White | 2.3 | 6,554 | 3.9 | 11,134 | 2.6 | 7,522 | 2.4 | 6,939 | 2.4 | 6,827 |
| Other | 0.6 | 27 | 4.5 | 213 | 4.4 | 212 | 2.7 | 138 | 2.7 | 143 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Receipt of Start Up Loans By ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, 8,895 Start Up Loans were received in 2017, at a rate of 2.7 loans per 10,000 economically active people; the number and rate of loans has decreased steadily since 2014, when 14,765 loans were awarded at a rate of 4.6 loans per 10,000 people
- in 2017, people of Mixed ethnicity were nearly 3 times as likely to receive a Start Up Loan compared with the overall rate, while Asian people were just over half as likely to receive a Start Up Loan compared with the overall rate
- the rate of Black people receiving a Start Up Loan fell from 26.9 per 10,000 in 2013 to 5.7 per 10,000 in 2017, a fall of nearly 80%; this may reflect the targeting of loans towards people from the Black ethnic group in the early years of the scheme
- the rate of people from the Mixed ethnic group receiving a Start Up Loan rose from 14.0 per 10,000 in 2013 to 24.9 per 10,000 in 2014, but fell to 7.5 per 10,000 in 2017; again, this may reflect the targeting of loans towards people from the Mixed ethnic group in the early years of the scheme
- the rate of White people receiving a Start Up Loan in 2017 was about the same as in 2013
- although the rate for the Other ethnic group was higher in 2017 than in 2013, the rate has been falling since 2014
3. Methodology
Figures for the number of Start Up Loans received come from the administrative data recorded by the Start Up Loans Company. They are divided by the estimates for the economically active population, taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and expressed as rates per 10,000 people.
Rounding
Rates have been rounded to 1 decimal place.
4. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Office for National Statistics
Note on corrections or updates
Higher-level figures may differ from those published by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office for National Statistics that use the Labour Force Survey.
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Annual Population Survey (APS) is the largest ongoing household survey in the UK and covers a range of topics, including:
- personal characteristics
- labour market status
- work characteristics
- education
- health
The purpose of the APS is to provide information on important social and socio-economic variables at local levels, such as labour market estimates.
The published statistics also allow the government to monitor estimates on a range of issues between censuses.
Secondary source
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Office for National Statistics
Note on corrections or updates
Higher-level figures may differ from those published by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office for National Statistics that use the Labour Force Survey.
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Annual Population Survey (APS) is the largest ongoing household survey in the UK and covers a range of topics, including:
- personal characteristics
- labour market status
- work characteristics
- education
- health
The purpose of the APS is to provide information on important social and socio-economic variables at local levels, such as labour market estimates.
The published statistics also allow the government to monitor estimates on a range of issues between censuses.
5. Download the data
This file contains: Ethnicity, Year, Value, numerator