Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what further steps he plans to take to support businesses experiencing significant cashflow problems to pay their staff after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme comes to an end.

The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency. Businesses continue to have access to the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including the four government-backed loan schemes for firms of all sizes to support their cashflow needs. The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible and how to apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.

As we now begin to re-open the economy, it is right that state support is slowly reduced and the focus shifts to getting furloughed employees back to work. The changes made ensure we are doing this in a measured way to support both firms and employees through the transition.

The Government will continue to closely monitor the impacts of the support packages and continue to engage with businesses and representative groups. Any announcements on the next stage of our economic response will be made at the appropriate time.