Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the sum of £1,000 was decided on as a measure of one-off financial support for wet pubs that are unable to open due to covid-19 restrictions.

Given wet-led pubs in tiers 2 and 3 will be subject to significant measures under the new regional tiered system, and will miss out on business during the busy Christmas period, it is right for the Government to increase its support to these businesses.

The Government has announced an additional £1,000 Christmas grant for ‘wet-led pubs’ in tiers 2 and 3. The payment will be a one-off for December, and eligible wet-led pubs across these tiers are invited to apply through their local authority who will be responsible for distributing the grants.

This grant is just one part of the unprecedented package of support that is available for businesses. The Government has acted to deliver support to the hospitality sectors by extending the CJRS until March and provided cash grants of up to £3,000 per month to help businesses that are closed with their costs.

In addition, the Government has provided £1.1 billion of Discretionary Grant funding for local authorities to target support to the businesses that are most important to their local economy. Businesses are also still able to access wider support, including:

o Affordable, Government backed finance through loan schemes – extended until the end of January 2021 and ‘Pay as You Grow’ options for businesses which have taken out loans, to make repayments over the long-term;

o A VAT deferral for up to 12 months;

o A 12-month business rates holiday;

o A moratorium on evictions to protect commercial tenants;

o Targeted support through the temporarily reduced rate of VAT (5%)

The Government is continuing to collect evidence on the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry and work with businesses and representative groups to ensure that support provided is right for this industry and the economy as a whole.