Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will provide financial support to the tourism sector in Suffolk during the period of the national covid-19 lockdown that was introduced in January 2021.

We have introduced a number of measures since the start of the pandemic to support tourism businesses, including those in Suffolk. This includes the extended furlough and self-employed schemes and various government-backed loans, grant schemes, business rates relief and a reduced VAT rate.

To help the sector through the current lockdown, we have announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property. This is in addition to the monthly Local Restrictions Support Grants (Closed). Local Authorities in England have also been given an additional £594 million discretionary funding to support their local businesses. This builds on the £1.1 billion discretionary funding which local authorities in England have already received to support their local economies and help businesses impacted.

Both my Department and VisitEngland remain in regular contact with regional tourism stakeholders to assess the substantial economic effects around the country.