Lord Fowler
Main Page: Lord Fowler (Crossbench - Life peer)
Baroness Penn
As the noble Baroness said, we introduced bounce-back loans just this week. We are moving at pace to make sure that all the measures that we have announced are implemented. Because of that pace, we will of course always keep those measures under review to see how well they are working and that the support is getting where we want it to be. If further measures are needed, we will keep that under review as well.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
Lord Sharkey. No? I call the noble Baroness, Lady Rawlings.
Baroness Rawlings (Con)
My Lords, what is essential? Does the Minister agree that mental stability is vital for prosperity and well-being? If so, does she agree that gardening and the arts are essential for the mind, just as food is for the body, to keep this nation prosperous and sane and to save lives?
Baroness Penn
The Government are very conscious of the impact that this pandemic may be having on people’s mental health and well-being. That is something that we will take into account as we look at the social distancing measures that we have in place. I know that many arts organisations are undertaking a lot of innovative work to bring arts into people’s homes. With regard to garden centres, we are working closely with the Horticultural Trades Association to see what can be done as we look at the easing of these measures.
Lord Woolley of Woodford (CB)
Black and minority ethnic youths are twice as likely to be unemployed as their white counterparts and 48% more likely to be on zero-hours contracts. What plans do the Government have to mitigate this already shocking data, which could get very much worse?
Baroness Penn
Of course, decisions around monetary policy are for the independent Bank of England. It has already taken action in this crisis, including cutting the bank rate from 0.25% to 0.1% and introducing the Term Funding Scheme with additional incentives to support small and medium-sized enterprises during this time.
The Lord Speaker
Are the noble Lords, Lord Sharkey or Lord Hendy, there now? No? In that case, the time allowed for the first set of questions has now elapsed.