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Written Question
Small Businesses: Coronavirus
Tuesday 5th May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide further tools to local government to support small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Lord Greenhalgh

Government is providing a package of support for businesses and workers, in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19. This includes £12.3bn for local authorities to deliver to SMEs under the Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund. On 1 May, the Business Secretary announced a further up to £617 million available to local authorities to support small businesses previously outside the scope of the business grant funding. Government is working closely with all local authorities to help them make payments to businesses as quickly and effectively as possible, whilst safeguarding public funds. As part of this we have provided detailed guidance and FAQs, regular briefings and one-to-one support from ministers and officials. Government will also provide additional funding to local authorities to meet the administrative costs of delivering this policy. Alongside support through local authorities, the Chancellor pledged an additional £10 million to increase Growth Hub capacity and provide high-quality business advice and guidance across all 38 Growth Hubs.


Written Question
Arts: Coronavirus
Tuesday 5th May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many creative industries businesses have applied for the (1) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans scheme, (2) the Small Business Grants Fund, and (3) the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund since their introduction.

Answered by Lord Greenhalgh

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) opened for applications on 23 March. As of 21 April, over £2.8 billion worth of loans have been issued to over 16,600 businesses. Lenders have received a total of over 36,000 applications.

At this time we cannot provide a breakdown of CBILS funding by sector, as we have given lenders a temporary dispensation from uploading their data to the British Business Bank’s system in order to let them focus on issuing new loans. This is a pragmatic step that reflects the urgency of getting loans issued. We are working with the British Business Bank, HM Treasury and the lenders on providing transparent and regular data publication going forward.

Government has also made £12.3 billion available to businesses under the Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund. On 1 May, the Business Secretary made up to £617 million available to local authorities to support small businesses previously outside the scope of the business grant funding. Local authorities are contacting businesses directly to deliver these grants. See this link for further (attached) information: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/top-up-to-local-business-grant-funds-scheme

As of 3 May, over 697,000 business premises have received grants across the two schemes, totalling £8.6 billion. We do not receive management information from local authorities broken down by sector. We have, however, published, a full breakdown of grant funding allocated to and distributed by each local authority (attached) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses.