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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow dairy farmers affected by the collapse of the service trade during the COVID-19 pandemic to access the Retail Grant Hospitality Scheme or apply for bounce back loans in response to such farmers reported difficulty in accessing the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

The Government has announced a package of measures designed to support businesses facing difficulties in this period of uncertainty, including the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF), and the Bounce Back Loans Scheme.

Businesses in England that would have been in receipt of the Expanded Retail Discount (which covers retail, hospitality and leisure) on 11 March with a rateable value of less than £51,000 will be eligible for the following cash grants per property via the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund:

• Eligible businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of up to and including £15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000.
• Eligible businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive a grant of £25,000.

Guidance on the types of businesses covered by the Expanded Retail Discount can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Any enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of the RHLGF should be directed to the relevant local authority.