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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what provision has been made in Treasury accounts for the potential exercising of its Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Bounce Back Loan Scheme guarantee.

Provisions for guarantee claims by lenders under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Bounce Back Loan Scheme are made in the accounts of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. This is because the guarantees are issued in the name of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Potential losses arising from these two schemes are referenced in the Department’s 2019/20 Annual Report and Accounts as items arising after the reporting period. Accounting provision for potential future losses will be made in the Department’s 2020/21 Annual Report and Accounts, which will be published in due course.