Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will increase access to funding for the supply chain of the hospitality sector during the covid-19 outbreak potentially through invoice factoring to ease cash flow as suppliers commit resources to hospitality restart.

The Government recognises that businesses within the hospitality supply chain have been acutely disrupted by recent necessary restrictions to hospitality businesses. The Government has acted to deliver support to these businesses, and ease cash flow problems for businesses through:

• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which has supported over 9 million jobs across the UK, including supporting jobs in sectors and their supply chains that have been directly impacted by restrictions. The CJRS has been extended until the end of April 2021.
• Local Authorities (in England) have been given an additional £500 million of discretionary funding to support local businesses. This builds on the £1.1 billion discretionary funding which Local Authorities in England have already received. Local Authorities have discretion to determine how much funding to provide to businesses and have the flexibility to target local businesses that are important to their local economies.
• A 12-month business rates holiday for all eligible retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in England, saving around 350,000 ratepayers a combined £10bn.
• A VAT deferral ‘New Payment Scheme’ whereby businesses which deferred their VAT due between March and June until March 2021 will have the option of making 11 payments spread throughout the year rather than one lump sum.

In addition to this wide-ranging package of support, we have also ensured businesses can access affordable, Government backed finance through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBLS) for larger firms and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBL) for small and micro enterprises. Under both CBILS and BBLS, invoice finance facilities in addition to term loans, overdrafts, and asset financing facilities are available to eligible businesses. Businesses will also be given until the end of March to access the BBLS, CBILS, and the CLBLS. ‘Pay as You Grow’ options are also available for businesses which have taken out loans through BBLS or CBILS, giving a longer repayment period and allowing further flexibility on repayments.

These businesses have and will continue to benefit directly from Government support schemes, and indirectly from the support offered to the pubs and restaurants they supply, protecting jobs in the industry. In the meantime, the Government will continue to engage with the sector and keep under review the case for further interventions, including measures to ease cash flow problems.