Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether plans he has to provide further support to (a) retail and (b) hospitality businesses after the national covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021.

The Government understands that this is a very challenging time for the UK’s retail and hospitality sector, and at the upcoming budget the Government will outline the next stages of its plan for jobs to support businesses and families across the UK.

In January the Chancellor announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring. The cash is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK. This grant comes in addition to the Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month for closed businesses.

A further £594 million is also being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions. This funding also comes in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities.

The Government is also delivering support to the retail and hospitality sector through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) which has been extended until April; Government backed finance through loan schemes, ‘Pay as You Grow’ long-term repayments options, a VAT cut, a VAT deferral for up to 12 months, a 12-month business rates holiday; and a moratorium on evictions to protect commercial tenants.