Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the Women's Budget Groups analysis that working-class women were most affected by the covid-19 lockdown; and what steps she (a) plans to mitigate those effects on those women and (b) is taking to ensure that disparity does not exist in the tiered covid-19 restrictions.

We are committed to ensuring a fair recovery for all. During the crisis we have rolled out unprecedented levels of support to protect jobs for both women and men.

As of 20 September, our COVID business support schemes provided £57.31bn of finance to businesses in need. In the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, all strong employers of women, eligible businesses will continue to pay no business rates in England for 12 months from 1st April 2020, saving them almost £10 billion.

For the 1.7 million self-employed women in the UK, the Self Employment Income Scheme has supported many through the crisis, seeing 2.7m claims since launch and there is an opportunity now for women to grow innovative businesses.