Economic Update

Naz Shah Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point, and that is why all Secretaries of State have been tasked by me to engage with their affected industries to see whether there are further specific measures of support that are worth our exploring.

[Naz Shah (Bradford West) (Lab)]

I welcome the Chancellor’s measures for small businesses, and especially in my constituency lots of people have been in touch with us about them, but they will only be effective if they are timely, so when will the cash grants be available to small businesses in real terms? Will he also consider the idea that, when landlords get mortgage breaks, they pass them on to their renters, and how will we ensure that actually happens?

[Rishi Sunak]

On the processing of the cash grants, as I have said, my right hon. Friend the Communities Secretary is working on this at pace. It will require local authorities to write to the recipients of small business rate relief to collect their bank details, which they do not hold centrally, so that they can then provide the cash payment, but I can assure the hon. Member that that work is happening at pace.