Industrial Development Act 1982: Use for Coronavirus-related Assistance

Lee Rowley Excerpts

Wednesday 29th June 2022 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Lee Rowley)]

I am tabling this statement for the benefit of hon. Members to bring to their attention spend under the Industrial Development Act 1982. In addition to the obligation to report on spend under the Industrial Development Act annually, the Coronavirus Act 2020 created a new quarterly reporting requirement for spend which has been designated as coronavirus-related under the Coronavirus Act. This statement fulfils that purpose.

The statement includes a report of the movement in contingent liability during the quarter. Hon. Members will wish to note that measures such as local authority grants, the coronavirus job retention scheme and self-employed income support scheme, and tax measures such as the suspension of business rates are not provided under the Industrial Development Act 1982 and hence are not included below.

This report covers the fourth quarter of 2021, from 1 October to 31 December 2021, in accordance with the Coronavirus Act.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has a negative expenditure in the fourth quarter of 2021 because the process to recover grant money underspent by applicants began in October 2021.

The written ministerial statement covering the third quarter of 2021 was published on 7 March 2022.

Spend under the Coronavirus Act2020

Under the Coronavirus Act 2020, there is a requirement to lay before Parliament details of the amount of assistance designated as coronavirus related provided in each relevant quarter. In the period from 1 October to 31 December 2021, the following expenditures were incurred: