Covid-19: Furloughed Space Grant Scheme

Baroness Neville-Rolfe Excerpts

Monday 15th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn]

The noble Lord will understand that that kind of question is exactly the type of thing the review will look at.

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. I agree that property costs are a major issue for the retail and hospitality sectors. But as I have been saying for many weeks, the biggest concern affecting the ability of retail, including restaurants and pubs, to open economically is the two-metre rule. Perhaps I may press the Minister yet again for a speedy review of that and, over the longer term, as others have said, for a rebalancing of the business rates regime so that it bears less heavily and unfairly on physical outlets at a time of digital explosion?

[Baroness Penn]

The Government are very cognisant of the impact of the two-metre rule on businesses and it is kept under constant review. The biggest support we can give businesses is to bring transmission of the virus down. That will allow us to take steps forward out of lockdown, as we have been able to do with the opening of non-essential retail outlets today.