Concerns are being raised about the length of time it takes banks to consider loans for small and medium-sized enterprises.

A new survey by ISME has found that the average waiting time for businesses who have applied for a loan is six weeks.

But lending to small businesses is at its highest since May 2009 - 44% have gotten loans in the last three months.

While 38% of companies who applied for funding in the last three months were refused credit by their banks, that is an improvement on the 42% refusal rate seen in the previous quarter.

The government has come in for some criticism, with two thirds saying they are having either a negative or no impact on SME lending.

IMSE says 62% of those who wanted funding made a formal application - which is a decrease from 72% on the previous three months.

The chief Executive of ISME, Mark Fielding, says there are a number of things that can be done to improve this.