Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the number of insolvencies of the decision not to extend the temporary provisions on wrongful trading in the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act 2020.

The wrongful trading provisions were temporarily suspended in March at the height of the pandemic when many businesses across the country were required to close. The temporary suspension gave company directors the confidence to continue trading while considering their options, giving them time to access the financial support introduced by Government. It was further extended in May to 30 June, and then again to 30 September, during the passage of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 in Parliament.

Since the suspension was first introduced businesses have received billions in loans, tax deferrals, Business Rate reliefs, and general and sector-specific grants to support them and help save jobs, and the Government’s recently launched Winter Economy Plan has a further package of targeted measures to continue that support.

In addition, a range of temporary measures to protect businesses from insolvency have been further extended.