Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the resilience of businesses in (a) the hospitality sector and (b) retail; and whether her Department provides guidance to businesses on best practice.

We understand the many challenges businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors are facing, which is why Government is supporting businesses with business rates relief and help with energy costs. We are also working across Government to identify opportunities to ease regulatory burdens.

We continue to work with members of the Hospitality Sector Council, to deliver our 2021 Hospitality Strategy, which aims to support the sector’s recovery from COVID-19 and improve its longer-term resilience.

The industry led Retail Sector Council is developing a strategic approach for retail and continues to invite views on the opportunities and challenges for business set out in the recently published discussion paper Retail: The Great Enabler.