The Ethnic Minority Taskforce will look at why such businesses have more problems finding finance, a barrier which was brought to light in a recent Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) survey.

That survey found that such businesses tended to pay higher bank loan charges than those owned by white people, while Black African and Black Caribbean-owned businesses are more likely to be rejected outright when applying for loans than those owned by whites, Indians and Pakistanis.

An estimated 300,000 small businesses in Britain are run by black and ethnic minority owners.