Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to financially support wholesale distributors in localities where local authorities do not include them in eligibility for five per cent discretionary grant funding announced as part of the Plan for Jobs.

During this difficult time for the country, I absolutely recognise the extreme disruption to people’s lives, jobs, and businesses due to the necessary actions to tackle COVID-19. This includes those in the wholesale sector who play a critical role in supporting our food supply chain.

The Government recognises that businesses which are legally required to close due to national or local restrictions will need additional support. This is why we have announced the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) scheme, which will provide businesses in England which are legally required to close with grants of up to £3,000 per four-week closure period, depending on their rateable value.

For businesses which are not legally closed, but which are nonetheless severely impacted by local or national restrictions, we have provided Local Authorities with a further £1.1billion across England via the Additional Restrictions Grant.

Local Authorities have discretion on how to use this funding to support businesses in their areas, but we encourage them to set up discretionary grant schemes to support businesses such as wholesalers which can remain open, but which are nonetheless severely affected by the enhanced COVID-19 restrictions.

Businesses across the country, including wholesale distributors, should also be able to benefit from others measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for businesses, including:

• The extension to 31 March of the CJRS, through which employees will receive up to 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked up to a maximum of £2,500 per month;
• Support for the self-employed via the SEISS, which will provide the self-employed with grants worth up to 80% of trading profits, covering November to January;
• The extension of the application deadline for loan guarantee schemes to the end of January 2021;
• An adjustment to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme rules to allow those businesses who have borrowed less than their maximum (i.e. less than 25% of their turnover) to top-up their existing loan; and
• Help for businesses in repaying loans from Government-backed schemes through the Pay as you Grow scheme and allowing lenders to extend the terms of CBILS loans to up to 10 years.