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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from different industries and sectors on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on those industries and sectors.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and other ministers at BEIS hold regular sector calls with all the industries that BEIS covers, including but not limited to sectors within manufacturing, energy, construction, life sciences, professional services, retail and hospitality. The industry representatives range from large to small businesses and trade associations. Additionally, since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Secretary of State has held frequent group calls with the major business representative organisations that represent a wide range of businesses in sectors and regions. All these engagements have provided information on the impact of Covid-19 on industries and sectors, and have informed the response from BEIS and other Government departments. The BEIS ministerial team continues to use these on-going engagements to ensure the effectiveness of the Government’s responses to the Covid-19 outbreak and, as demonstrated by the Secretary of State’s recent industry roundtables on Economic Recovery, to ensure a safe return to work across the whole UK economy as quickly as possible.