Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on developing an initiative to support a furlough scheme for (a) luxury coaches and (b) other assets which cannot be used during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

My Department continues to meet regularly with representatives of the coach sector to understand their concerns and identify potential opportunities to support the sector, and have been supportive of the use of coaches to provide additional home to school transport as schools return. We will continue to consider the needs of the wider transport sector and respond appropriately, where necessary.

The Government has announced several measures available to UK businesses, including the coach sector, to financially support them through this time. The measures include:

• Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)

• Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS)

• Time to pay (TTP)

• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS), which has been extended until the end of October 2020

• VAT deferral

Details of all of the Government’s support measures for businesses is available at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19