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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support the manufacturing sector during the covid-19 outbreak.

Manufacturing is a critical part of our economy and the Government is engaging with industry to ensure that we can support our manufacturing sectors during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many businesses across the aerospace, chemical, automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical, packaging, and other sectors have answered the call to action. These businesses are playing a direct role in combatting COVID-19 by producing the materials and equipment necessary, as well as enabling the services that we need to fight the spread of the virus and keep the country running.

We have put in place an unprecedented package of Government support to give manufacturers and their suppliers the support they need to ensure business continuity. These measures include:

• £330 billion worth of Government-backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses across the UK.
• The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) to help small and medium-sized businesses to access vital financial support.
• The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) to allow more firms to benefit from Government-backed support at this difficult time.
• The Bounce Back Loans scheme for small businesses, which complements the CBILS and CLBILS schemes.
• Deferring VAT payments for firms to the next quarter, until the end of June, which represents a £30 billion injection into the economy.
• Our Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, where small and large employers will be eligible to apply for a Government grant of 80% of workers’ salaries up to £2,500 a month. This will be backdated to 1 March 2020 and available for at least three months.