Osborne fails again as banks rob billions in handouts

Bank of England figures revealed that the Treasury ploughed £9.5 billion into the Chancellor's flagship scheme last quarter - only to see lending actually plummet by £2.4bn.

The Chancellor touted the scheme as a cure for banks' refusing to lend following the economic meltdown. But today's figures showed little change for all the dosh.

Total spending on the scheme has amounted to £13.8bn since its launch in June.

Barclays had lent nearly all the £6bn it had claimed but Santander had taken £1bn while its own lending shrank by more than six times that amount.

Meanwhile RBS and Lloyds, both bailed out and part-owned by the taxpayer, siphoned off vast amounts only to watch their lending dwindle by even larger figures.

Lloyds had drawn £3bn yet lending fell by £3.1bn last quarter and RBS had received £750m but lending still fell by £1.7bn.

The Bank of England said that it expected credit conditions to improve over the course of this year.

But the Left Economic Advisory Panel's Andrew Fisher slammed the Funding for Lending Scheme for failing to tackle the fundamental problem of reduced demand.

"When people's incomes are being constrained and job insecurity remains there is no confidence to borrow money, even at marginally reduced rates.

"Likewise businesses know that consumers are spending less and are not borrowing to invest in expanding their operations," he said.

North of the border, the SNP government's Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie was just as scathing.

"If ministers look out of the Treasury window they will see the reality on our high streets and homes as families, businesses and communities struggle in austerity Britain," he said.

A spokesman for PM David Cameron said that it "would take some time" before the policy's impact would be "fully felt." Lending had increased as of January, he added.