Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the UK will adopt or mirror the higher state aid thresholds announced by the EU on 28 January 2021 of €1.8 million for the Temporary Framework and €10 million for uncovered fixed costs.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is currently consulting on its proposed approach for establishing a bespoke UK-wide subsidy control regime. The Government is keeping under close review the impact of subsidy control rules on the ability of businesses to access grants and will publish new guidance as and when circumstances require it.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the basis is of the decision to apply EU state aid limits to grants in England issued after 1 January 2021.
Answered by Paul Scully
The EU State Aid rules and limits no longer apply in the UK, except in respect of aid in scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol and Article 138 in relation to aid for EU programmes and activities within the Multiannual Financial Framework. Subsidies must instead meet the terms of the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement as well as the other Free Trade Agreements we have reached with the rest of the world and our WTO commitments.
Existing guidance for Covid-19 Business Support grants references pre-existing EU State Aid limits. A policy decision has been taken to retain the previous limits allowed under the EU State aid regime to ensure continuity for beneficiaries.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding has been allocated to local authorities through the Additional Restrictions Grant; and how much of this funding has been disbursed.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) is a discretionary scheme aimed at supporting businesses, including those that have not been mandated to close but have had their trade adversely affected by the nationalised restrictions. Local Authorities have been allocated a further £500m in discretionary funding via the ARG, in addition to £1.1bn already allocated in November 2020. Local Authorities can use the ARG to support businesses in their local area, as they see fit. We expect Local Authorities to use this additional resource quickly to support businesses in their area.
This data relates to allocations and grant payments made by Local Authorities to businesses up to 17 January 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding has been allocated to each local authority for the one-off business covid-19 lockdown grants payment announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 5 January 2020; and how much of this funding has been disbursed by local authorities.
Answered by Paul Scully
My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 5 January a further package of support for businesses that are required to close, or which are severely affected by the restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives. Business that are mandated to close may be eligible for grants of up to £4,500 for every six weeks of closure through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) Addendum: 5 January onwards. The Closed Business Lockdown Payment (CBLP) is a one-off payment of up to £9,000 to support business during the difficult Spring period. In order to make administration simpler for Local Authorities, the CBLP has been paid to eligible businesses, together with the LRSG, in one single payment.
We have not yet published data on the CBLP. Yesterday, we published data relating to allocations and grant payments made by Local Authorities to businesses up to 17 January 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much interest the Government has paid to banks for (a) bounce back loans and (b) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS); and how much banks have charged the Government for arranging CBILs loans.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government covers interest payments on behalf of borrowers for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) for the first 12 months after drawdown of a facility. For CBILS, interest rates and fees will vary between banks and will depend on the specific lending proposal. The interest rate for Bounce Back loans is set at 2.5%.
As of 28 January 2021, the total value of interest payments made for both schemes is as follows:
For CBILS, the Government also covers arrangement fees on behalf of borrowers.
As of 28 January 2021, the total amount recorded for arrangement fees paid to banks is £24,256,440.
Banks are not permitted to charge any fees for administering BBLS.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding each local authority has received under the latest one-off business grants announcement for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses; and how much each local authority area has disbursed.
Answered by Paul Scully
On 5 January 2021, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced one-off top-up grants, worth up to £9,000 per property, to help retail, hospitality and leisure businesses affected by the new closures through to Spring.
We have worked with Local Authorities to best calculate the amount of funding required, using business rates data and local business information. We are working with places to ensure that funding reaches businesses that are in scope as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of businesses that are eligible for the Additional Restrictions Grant (a) nationally, (b) regionally and (c) in each local authority area.
Answered by Paul Scully
Local Authorities have discretion to use the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) to support businesses in the way that best fits their local area. Eligibility for the ARG is set locally and guidance makes clear that Local Authorities may use this funding for grants or for other related business support as they see fit. The number of businesses that are eligible in each area is determined by individual Local Authorities.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding each local authority has received through the Additional Restrictions Grant; and how much funding has been disbursed.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has put forward an unprecedented package of support to help businesses which are severely affected by restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives. This package of support includes the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) which was announced in November 2020 to provide discretionary business grants and wider business support in England. An initial £1.1 billion was allocated to Local Authorities under this scheme in November, and a further £500 million of top-up ARG funding was announced at the start of the third lockdown period in January.
This funding is shared between all Local Authorities in England and they have the discretion to use the ARG scheme to help businesses in the way they see fit. We are working closely with Local Authorities to ensure that support is delivered to businesses that are in scope as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding has been allocated to each local authority area for the £1,000 wet-led pubs grant for December 2020.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has put forward an unprecedented package of support for businesses in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19. This support includes the Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs who missed out on much needed business during the busy festive period. Pubs in scope of this scheme will need to provide evidence that they derive more than 50% of their income from drink sales. Grants were made available to eligible pubs upon entry to Tier 2 or Tier 3 restrictions following the scheduled Tier review dates of 2 December and 16 December, and to those that entered Tier 4 between 2 and 29 December if they had not already qualified for the grant.
We worked closely with Local Authorities to calculate the amount of funding required for this scheme, using business rates data and local business information. We continue to work closely with Local Authorities to ensure that funding is delivered to pubs that are in scope of this scheme as quickly as possible.