Monday 8th June 2020

(4 years, 5 months ago)

Written Statements
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Lord Sharma Portrait The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Alok Sharma)
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I hereby give notice of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s intention to seek an advance from the contingencies fund totalling £5,673,000 to enable expenditure on Covid-19 vaccines programme to be spent ahead of the passage of the Supply and Appropriation Act.

The funding is urgently required for HM Government to secure inventory which can be utilised for a number of vaccine, antibody and therapeutic candidates.

Parliamentary approval for additional resources of £5,673,000 for this new expenditure will be sought in a Main Estimate for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £5,673,000 will be met by repayable cash advances from the Contingencies Fund.

The cash advances will be repaid upon receiving Royal Assent on the Supply and Appropriation Bill.

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