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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of changes to physical distancing on businesses that have been ordered to remain closed and therefore have no income.

On 11 May the Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which sets out our plan for moving to the next phase of our response. The strategy sets out a cautious roadmap for easing existing measures in a safe and measured way. The roadmap will be kept constantly under review, and we will continue to work hard to support business and workers as the situation evolves.

Detailed guidance has been published for various working environments to help businesses make workplaces as safe as possible. We continue to work with stakeholders on developing sensible guidance for businesses that will give UK workers the utmost confidence on their return to work and will now focus on sectors that are not currently open to help them plan for when they can open.

Employers are responsible for taking all reasonably practical steps to address health and safety risks, which would be identified by carrying out a risk assessment. Nevertheless, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced unprecedented support for business and workers, including a Bounce Back Loans scheme.