Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to support small breweries during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises that breweries have been acutely disrupted by recent necessary restrictions to hospitality businesses.

On the 5 January the Chancellor announced that £594 million is being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support businesses ineligible for grants for closed businesses, but who might be impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. This funding comes in addition to the £1.1 billion discretionary grant for Local Authorities previously announced. Local Authorities have discretion to determine how much funding to provide to businesses and have the flexibility to target local businesses that are important to their local economies.

Breweries have and will continue to benefit directly from Government support schemes, and indirectly from the support offered to the pubs and restaurants they supply, protecting jobs in the industry. The Government has acted to deliver support through:

• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which has supported over 9 million jobs across the UK, including supporting jobs in sectors and their supply chains, that have been directly impacted by restrictions. The CJRS has been extended until the end of April 2021.
• A VAT deferral ‘New Payment Scheme’ whereby businesses which deferred their VAT due between March and June until March 2021 will have the option of making 11 payments spread throughout the year rather than one lump sum.
• Access to affordable, Government backed finance through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBLS) for larger firms and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBL) for small and micro enterprises, which have been extended until the end of March.
• ‘Pay as You Grow’ options for businesses who have taken out loans through BBLS or CBILS, providing businesses with a longer repayment period and allowing further flexibility on repayments.