Chris Grayling
Main Page: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)Department Debates - View all Chris Grayling's debates with the Cabinet Office
(3 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Prime Minister
As the hon. Lady knows, businesses have been eligible for £25,000 in grants. We have had 11 million people supported under the coronavirus job retention scheme and spent huge amounts of money— £26 billion in bounce-back loans alone. We will support businesses large and small for the duration of this crisis, but the best way to get all the hairdressers and nail bars—all these businesses—back on their feet as fast as possible is to make sure that we continue to depress the virus, keep it under control and keep the incidence down, and that way we will go forward. Our vision for the country is to try to get back to normality for as many as possible as fast as possible.
Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell) (Con)
I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. I am looking forward on 4 July to dropping in at the Wheatsheaf in Ewell to thank them for moving from being a great hub of the local community to a great virtual hub of the local community in the last few weeks. However, my right hon. Friend and I both represent a large number of people who work in the creative industries, and although today’s announcement is very welcome, it is inevitable that many parts of those industries, such as the exhibitions sector and small theatres, will still be held back for a period of time. Can my right hon Friend assure me that he, the Chancellor and other Ministers will continue to look at ways in which we can ease the pressure on one of our most essential sectors?
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend is a great champion of those industries and, as I have said to colleagues in the House already, we are doing a huge amount to engage with them and to support them.