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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support the British curry industry.

There is a significant package of support currently available to businesses in restaurant and takeaway sectors. These include:

• grants such as through the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHGLF) and the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) available to eligible businesses
• government-backed loans through schemes such as the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)
• access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to furlough workers, which will continue in its current form until 31 July and then in a more flexible form from August until 31 October
• a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses for the 2020 to 2021 tax year
• the option to defer VAT payments due between 20 March and 30 June until 31 March 2021

In order to support businesses wishing to remain open, the Government has also changed regulations to enable restaurants, cafes and pubs to offer delivery and food takeaways without going through the normal planning process.