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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate the Government has made of the number of companies affected by the liquidation of Carillion; and what steps the Government plans to take to minimise job losses at those companies.

At this stage in the liquidation process it is far too soon for the Liquidator to have gathered in full details of the company’s debts and creditors. The Liquidation process for such a complex and interconnected group of companies will take some time. The Official Receiver and his Special Managers have access to the records of the company and will be analysing these as quickly as possible.

We have taken steps to minimise job losses by enacting robust contingency plans to mitigate the impact of Carillion’s insolvency on public services and the individuals employed by the company. PWC are acting as Special Manager to the Official Receiver to ensure that we can continue to provide public services until the liquidation is complete, this means people providing these services can continue to go to work and be confident that they will get paid.

We met with and sought assurance from major high street lenders that they will not penalise small businesses affected by Carillion’s liquidation. Lenders are contacting customers and, where appropriate, are putting in place emergency measures, including overdraft extensions, payment holidays and fee waivers to ensure those facing short term issues can be helped to stay on track.

Government undertook to fund for 48 hours the costs of Carillion continuing to deliver purely private contracts in order to give private sector contractors to determine whether they want to pay for continuation of services from Carillion in liquidation while they move their contracts to another firm.

Between 15 and 16 January all of the company’s private sector service customers have been contacted by the Official Receiver to determine their ongoing needs. Over 90% of these customers have indicated that they want Carillion to continue providing services in the interim until new suppliers can be found and will provide funding which enables the Official Receiver to retain the employees working on those contracts.

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy chaired the first meeting on 18 January of a taskforce to advise on the impact on small businesses and employees affected by Carillion insolvency. It will act as a means for government to communicate to those affected by Carillion’s liquidation, assess wider economic impacts and consider how to ensure that employees are provided with the right support to maximise rapid re-employment.

Information is published online by the Insolvency Service for employees, creditors and suppliers affected and seeking advice. This can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/carillion-declares-insolvency-information-for-employees-creditors-and-suppliers.