Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to protect small business owners that have given personal guarantees to (a) landlords and (b) other creditors but are unable to trade during the covid-19 outbreak.

If there are issues with paying rent, businesses should speak to their landlord about options for reprofiling or securing discounts. The Government has passed legislation that means that commercial leases are not automatically forfeited for non-payment of rent. This means that for all types of commercial tenants, the right of automatic forfeiture could not be put into effect for the relevant period. The relevant period is until 30th June, with an option for the Government to extend if needed.

This change will support commercial tenants facing eviction because of an inability to pay rent by delaying the date from which a commercial tenancy may be forfeited for non-payment of rent. Businesses having trouble making other debt repayments should speak to their lenders at the earliest possible opportunity.

Businesses impacted by COVID-19 may also benefit from a range of other support measures including:

• A 12-month business rates holiday for all eligible retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in England
• Small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief
• A Discretionary Grant Fund for Local Authorities in England to make grants payments to businesses not eligible for the above schemes
• The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
• The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBL) for small and micro enterprises
• VAT deferral for up to 12 months
• The Time To Pay scheme, through which businesses and self-employed individuals in financial distress, and with outstanding tax liabilities, can receive support with their tax affairs

The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, when the schemes open and how to apply - https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support.