Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on updating the Covid-19 Temporary Framework for UK Public Authorities to take into account the temporary increase in EU State Aid limits in order to help support the hospitality sector.

The European Commission approved amendments to the Covid-19 Temporary Framework for UK authorities on 08 December 2020. These included support for uncovered fixed costs, an increase in the budget of the scheme and inclusion of subsidised interest rates for subordinated loans.

The EU State aid rules ceased to apply to the United Kingdom on 31 December 2020, except in the limited circumstances of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The United Kingdom remains bound by its international commitments, including the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the EU. In particular, it will be important for relevant subsidies to meet the terms of the Principles set out in Article 3.4 of the TCA. Covid-19 schemes in operation before 1 January 2021 will already be compliant with these Principles.