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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on businesses with a rateable value above £51,000.

The Government engages closely with businesses and local partners to understand the impact of Covid-19 across all sectors of the economy.

Substantial grant support has been made available throughout the pandemic including to those businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 and above.

Where those businesses are currently required by law to close, the Local Restrictions Support Grant enables local authorities to make grant payments of the equivalent of £4,500 per six-week period of closure.

Businesses with a rateable value above £51,000 that were required by law to close at the beginning of the January lockdown are also able to access one-off grants of £9,000 through the Closed Business Lockdown Payment.

My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that a further iteration of grants will be made available to enable businesses to reopen as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. Restart Grants will offer businesses further one-off grants of up to £18,000. Further details will be made available in due course.