Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential physical and psychological impact for those who faced financial exclusion from the Covid‑19 Business Support schemes during the pandemic.

Module 10, the final module of the Covid Inquiry, will consider impact on mental health and wellbeing. There was however a wide range of support available to businesses during Covid delivered by the Devolved Administrations in their areas. The Covid-19 Business Support Grant Schemes which the Department for Business and Trade was responsible for, were delivered via Local Authorities across England, included discretionary allocations which allowed each authority to consider applications from those businesses which did not fit the eligibility criteria for the mainstream schemes. The Scottish Government were responsible for Covid Business Support in Scotland.