Small Businesses: Coronavirus

(asked on 19th April 2022) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to support small businesses that are experiencing operational challenges as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.


Answered by
Paul Scully Portrait
Paul Scully
This question was answered on 27th April 2022

Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are the backbone of our economy and have a key role to play in driving economic growth. The Government has provided an unprecedented and comprehensive package of support to help as many businesses as possible during this challenging period.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme (CLBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) were instrumental in providing vital cashflow to businesses affected by the pandemic, unlocking almost £80bn of finance and reaching almost a third of SMEs in the UK. This has been supplemented by the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) which ensures they can continue to access loans and other kinds of finance as they grow and recover from the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. The RLS is still open to applications from SMEs until 30 June 2022. We have also implemented business rates relief worth £7 billion over five years.

This government is providing support on access to finance through the British Business Bank and our new ‘Help to Grow’ scheme will help small businesses across the UK learn new skills, reach new customers and boost profits.

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