Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether builders' merchants are defined as essential businesses, for the purposes of his Department's 23 March 2020 guidance entitled Further businesses and premises to close.
Construction plays a crucial role in supporting our public services, maintaining the nation’s infrastructure, and providing safe, decent homes for people to live in. Recently, the Government wrote to all those working in the construction sector to thank them for the critical contribution they are making to the resilience of this country.
Builders’ merchants are an essential part of the construction supply chain and it is therefore important that they continue to operate. However, it is important that they do so in accordance with the guidance issued by Public Health England, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/social-distancing-in-the-workplace-during-coronavirus-covid-19-sector-guidance#construction