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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support social enterprises affected by the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises the important social and economic contribution that social enterprises are making across the country.

Social enterprises continue to benefit from the unprecedented package of support made available by the government, including Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Many will also have benefited from government grants where they have been required to close non-essential retail.

In addition to cross economy measures the Government made available a £750 million package of funding, specifically for charities, social enterprises, along with unlocking an additional £150 million from dormant bank and building society accounts. This funding has helped over 13,000 organisations continue to deliver vital services for those most affected by the pandemic.

We continue to monitor sector health closely. The government is committed to working with social enterprise representatives to support a strong and resilient sector.