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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to provide additional financial support to (a) pubs, (b) restaurants and (c) other businesses worst affected by the covid-19 lockdown.

There is a significant package of financial support currently available to businesses in the hospitality sector to help the difficulties caused by Covid-19 and the associated social distancing measures the Government has put in place. The wide range of schemes include:

• grants under the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHGLF) scheme, the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) scheme, and the Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund scheme for eligible businesses
• government-backed loans through schemes such as the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)
• access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to furlough workers, which will continue in its current form until 31 July and then in a more flexible form from August until 31 October
• a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses for the 2020 to 2021 tax year
• the option to defer VAT payments due between 20 March and 30 June until 31 March 2021

• access to the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS)

We continue to keep our support for pubs, restaurants and other businesses under review and to listen to feedback from businesses, and their representatives, in affected sectors.