Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support his Department is providing to businesses required to close as a result of the covid-19 lockdown restrictions announced in January 2021.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Throughout this crisis, the government has sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods while also supporting businesses and public services across the UK. To do this, the government has put in place an economic package of support which will provide businesses and individuals with certainty over the coming months, even as measures to prevent further spread of the virus change. The government has spent over £280 billion this year to provide this support.
Businesses forced to close can claim grants of up to £3,000 per month, based on their rateable value, through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed). They can also claim a one-off grant of up to £9,000, in addition to the monthly grant. Local authorities will also be given an additional £500 million discretionary funding to support their local businesses. This builds on the £1.1 billion discretionary funding (worth £20 per head of population) which local authorities in England have already received to support their local economies and help businesses impacted.
Businesses are also able to access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which was introduced to help employers whose operations have been affected by COVID-19 retain their employees and protect the UK economy. All businesses across the UK can access the scheme, which will run until the end of April 2021, with employees receiving 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to £2,500 per month.
Businesses have also received billions in loans, tax deferrals, Business Rates relief, and general and sector-specific grants. Individuals and families have benefited from increased welfare payments, enhanced Statutory Sick Pay, a stay on repossession proceedings and mortgage holidays.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to bus services in rural areas across West Sussex.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is committed to improving access to transport in rural areas.
The Government pays almost £260 million per year in Bus Service Operators Grant, which benefits passengers by helping operators keep fares down, and enabling operators to run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation, particularly in rural areas.
There is currently a ‘Call for Evidence’ open to seek ideas on what we could include within a Future of Transport Rural Strategy. Views are being sought on: trends in rural areas, opportunities from innovation for rural areas and the approach government could take to help shape these opportunities.
We are also developing a National Bus Strategy for England, which will focus on the needs of passengers so that more people have access to bus services that meet their needs. The Government recognises the importance of good transport links for the sustainability and independence of communities, particularly in rural areas, and the Strategy will set out how national and local government, and the private sector will come together to support this.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has commissioned a best practice assessment of countries that are issuing covid-19 vaccinations at the fastest rates.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We are working through multilateral channels, such as the G7 and G20, and with the World Health Organization and international partners, including industry. We are discussing collaborative approaches to supporting vaccine development, manufacturing scale-up, and future distribution to meet both domestic and international needs, including for the world’s poorest countries.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to decarbonise the transport network.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We are developing a bold and ambitious Transport Decarbonisation Plan to achieve net zero emissions across all modes of transport, which we expect to publish in Spring 2021. It will set out a credible and ambitious pathway to delivering transport’s contribution to carbon budgets and meet net zero by 2050.
We have already taken significant steps and the Government is going further and faster to decarbonise transport by phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. Between 2030 and 2035, any new cars and vans sold that emit from the tailpipe must have significant zero emission capability, for example plug in and full hybrids.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress UK embassies and consulates are making in securing international business co-operation on tackling climate change.
Answered by James Duddridge
The FCDO has a key role in delivering a successful COP including in securing international business co-operation in tackling climate change. The Foreign Secretary and FCDO Ministers raise climate change in their engagements with businesses, and our diplomatic network are regularly engaging companies across the globe. These efforts to drive action from businesses and investors on climate change are complemented by the work of Nigel Topping, as the UN High Level Action Champion for COP26 and Mark Carney as the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance.
At the UK co-hosted Climate Ambition Summit in December, a number of leading firms came forward with major pledges. For instance Apple pledged carbon neutrality for its supply chain and products by 2030.At the same summit, the UK launched the Race to Resilience: a campaign which brings together businesses and insurance companies, alongside mayors, community leaders and others, to commit to building resilience to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of 4 billion people who are vulnerable to climate risks.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment his Department has had made of the adequacy of the economic support available for Northern Irish businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Robin Walker
The pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to the Northern Ireland economy and to the UK as a whole. Throughout the crisis the Government’s priority has been to protect lives and livelihoods.
We have taken robust action to support individuals and businesses in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland businesses and individuals have benefited from UK-wide support schemes and policies, including the Job Retention Scheme, Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, the 5% reduced rate of VAT for the hospitality sector, and government backed loan schemes, such as Bounce Back Loans and the Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Around one in four jobs in Northern Ireland have been supported by the UK Government’s employment support package, with around 250,000 people benefiting from the furlough scheme and almost 80,000 self-employed supported through SEISS. In addition, £1.3bn in government-backed loans has been issued to almost 35,000 businesses in Northern Ireland.
The UK Government has also provided £3 billion in additional funding to the Northern Ireland Executive to support its response to Covid-19. This has funded a range of economic interventions locally, including business rates relief, grants for businesses, and tailored support for certain sectors, such as hospitality, which have been disproportionately impacted.
These policies have kept people in work, supported their incomes and supported businesses, delivering one of the most generous and comprehensive packages of support globally.
As measures to control the virus change, it is right that Government support should also evolve. The Government keeps all policies under review, and will continue to work with businesses and representative groups to inform our efforts to support businesses.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent assessment his Department has had made of the adequacy of the economic support available for Scottish businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Treasury is providing unprecedented support for jobs and businesses across the UK in the face of coronavirus, including an unprecedented £8.6bn upfront guarantee to the Scottish Government. Scotland’s Budget will increase by over £2.4bn during the next financial year.
This is on top of the UK-wide schemes, such as the support for workers, self-employed people and the British Business Bank-administered business loan schemes.
Where policy responsibilities are devolved, the Scottish Government can use this very substantial additional funding to grow the economy, improve public services and support people and businesses across Scotland. I urge the Scottish Government to take swift action to make sure that the funding is made available as soon as possible.
The unprecedented package of measures we have put in place to support all parts of the country shows the clear benefits for Scotland of being part of a strong United Kingdom.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the business opportunities for Scotland arising from COP26.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
I have frequent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the opportunities which COP26 offers for businesses in Scotland and the whole of the UK. The Government is committed to delivering an ‘all of UK’ COP26 in Glasgow. All parts of the UK will have important roles to play in ensuring the summit’s success. We are working with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to ensure an inclusive and ambitious summit for the whole of the UK.
The UK Government is committed to leading the way in tackling climate change working with all countries and with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change, in the UK and globally, to inspire action ahead of COP26. The COP26 Business Leaders group brings together key internationally focused businesses across a broad range of sectors who are taking positive climate action. We are inviting businesses from every corner of the UK to join us in the Race to Zero. Race To Zero is a global initiative, backed by science-based targets, to commit businesses, cities, regions, investors and universities to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 at the very latest.
I am encouraged by the engagement that we have seen so far and look forward to continuing to work with businesses to maximise the opportunities which the summit brings.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support he plans to provide for undergraduate students whose university education has been disrupted by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
We understand that this is a difficult and uncertain time for students, and we are working with the sector to make sure that all reasonable efforts are being made to enable all students to continue their studies and provide the support required for them to do so. Importantly, and following the national lockdown announcement, we have prioritised the return to face-to-face teaching for courses which are most important to be delivered in-person in order to support the pipeline of future key workers. All other courses should be delivered online until at least mid-February. We are working to ensure that all students are able to return to university as soon as it is safe to do so and we will provide further advice on this as soon as we can.
Our expectation, during these challenging times is that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and the Office for Students (OfS) will continue to actively monitor universities to ensure that quality of provision is maintained and accessible for all. That said, I know the sector has put in significant resources and worked hard to provide and prepare learning materials for this academic year and there are some fantastic and innovative approaches to delivering high-quality online learning.
We are also working with universities and the Professional, Statutory, and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) to explore what extra measures they have, or will need, to put in place to ensure that students continue to graduate with PSRB accredited degrees.
Students undertaking courses that would normally require attendance on-site will qualify for loans for living costs in the 2020/21 academic year, even if universities are providing course lectures and/or tutorials online due to the COVID-19 outbreak, provided students continue to engage with their higher education provider.
Students who suspend their studies for a variety of reasons, including shielding, can apply to Student Finance England for their living costs support to be continued while they are absent from their course. Students who suspend their studies due to illness automatically receive living costs support for the first 60 days of their illness.
Students who have applied for a loan for living costs for the 2020/21 academic year and have been awarded a lower amount than the maximum and believe their household income for the current tax year (2020/21) will drop by at least 15% compared to the household income they provided when they were initially assessed, can apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.
In these exceptional circumstances, we recognise that some students may face financial hardship or experience mental health issues. We have asked universities to prioritise mental health support, and ensure that students required to self-isolate receive the support they need. To support with this, we have worked closely with the OfS to help clarify that providers can draw upon existing funding to increase hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Providers are able to use OfS Student Premium funding worth around £256 million for this academic year towards student hardship funds. We are also currently making available up to £20 million of additional hardship funding to support those that need it most, particularly disadvantaged students. In addition, the £3 million OfS funded mental health and well-being platform, Student Space, has been extended for the whole of the 2020/21 academic year to provide extra support during these unprecedented times. The platform is designed to work alongside existing services. I also continually engage with Vice Chancellors and sector representatives, reinforcing at every opportunity that student welfare should remain a priority.
We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust sector guidance and support where necessary.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on promoting economic growth to support the recovery from covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Prime Minister and Chancellor chaired the first meeting of the new Build Back Better Business Council on 18 January. Here, the Chancellor laid out the three key pillars of the government’s plan to drive growth beyond the pandemic: investing in infrastructure, skills and innovation.
This is in addition to the unprecedented fiscal action set out by the Chancellor at January’s Economic Update, taken to support jobs and businesses through the crisis, in order to minimise short term and long-term damage to the economy.
The Government has provided over £280bn of fiscal stimulus through the UK’s comprehensive economic support plan. By doing this, we continue to provide comparable or greater support than all our international peers across almost all areas of economic policy.
This support provides a bridge for people and businesses until the economy reopens, giving them a chance to rebuild and grow again in the future.