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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to mitigate the effect of covid-19 on business supply chains.

The Government is well prepared for this type of outbreak. We will continue to take all necessary precautions, such as engaging with key industry partners and employer organisations to understand the potential effect of Covid-19 on workers and to discuss their preparedness planning.

On 17 March, the Government announced a major new package of loans and guarantees, which means any good business in financial difficulty that needs access to cash to pay their rent, the salaries of their employees, pay suppliers, or purchase stock, will be able to access a Government-backed loan on attractive terms, with no cap on lending capacity. The Government will make an initial £330 billion of guarantees available – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP.

On 17 March, the Government also announced £20 billion of business rates support and grant funding to help the most affected firms manage their cashflow through this period by:

• giving all retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses in England a 100% business rates holiday for the next 12 months;
• increasing grants to small businesses eligible for Small Business Rate Relief from £3,000 to £10,000;
• providing further £25,000 grants to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses operating from smaller premises, with a rateable value over £15,000 and below £51,000.