Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on consumer confidence in high street shopping; and what steps the Government is taking to encourage local shopping.

Government recognises that this is a challenging time for everyone in the country and COVID-19 is having a significant impact on our communities, businesses and town centres.

The Government is investing in our high streets and town centres, to help local communities to create high streets and town centres where people want to spend their time and money in. On 20 March we announced a new £56 million Welcome Back Fund (WBF), building on the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund (RHSSF) announced in 2020 to support a safe and successful reopening of our high streets and seaside resorts, giving people the reassurance that they can shop and socialise in a COVID-secure way. We were encouraged to see the rise in footfall following the opening of non-essential retail in April and continue to work with the retail sector on continuing to build consumer confidence.

This builds on our longer-term investment in high streets. On 26 December 2020, the Communities Secretary announced that up to £830 million has been allocated from the Future High Streets Fund. 15 areas have been awarded £255 million, with a further 57 areas to receive provisional funding of £576 million. This is a major boost for local high streets. The investment will support areas to recover from the pandemic and help transform underused town centres into vibrant places to live, work and shop.

The Government is also providing support to local leadership with a High Streets Task Force, giving high streets and town centres expert advice to adapt and thrive. On 20 March, MHCLG announced the next 70 local authorities, including Ashfield, that will receive targeted, in-person support from high street experts. This support will include a one-day diagnostic visit by a Task Force expert and, depending on the result of this diagnostic, may then include further support through expert advice on a specific issue, such as planning or design, workshops to develop a high street’s vision, and mentoring or training.