Small Businesses: Compensation

(asked on 16th March 2020) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what compensation he plans to make available to small businesses for loss of revenue as a result of government-imposed restrictions in relation to covid-19; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Nadhim Zahawi Portrait
Nadhim Zahawi
This question was answered on 19th March 2020

The Government is closely monitoring developments in relation to potential economic impacts on the UK economy, including on individuals, businesses, supply chains, and for consumers.

On 17 March, the Government announced a major new package of loans and guarantees. 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.

The Government also announced £20 billion of business rates support and grant funding to help the most-affected firms to 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

At last week’s Budget, the Government also provided £30 billion of support to the economy to deal with the crisis by investing in public services, increasing support for vulnerable people and providing business with tax reliefs and loans.

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