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 domestic manufacturing capacity.

Manufacturing is a critical part of our economy.?My Department?is engaging with industry trade bodies to understand the impacts of Covid-19 on the manufacturing sector, to ensure that Government support meets the needs of manufacturers?during and after the Covid-19 outbreak.

On 7 May, the Office for National Statistics published the Business Impacts of Covid-19 Survey.[1] It showed that 79% of manufacturing businesses continued to trade during between 6 and19 April 2020. However, more than half of manufacturing businesses reported a fall in turnover during this period.

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronavirustheukeconomyandsocietyfasterindicators/7may2020#business-impact-of-the-coronavirus