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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses in areas that have recently been affected by flooding.

Following this winter’s severe flooding across northern England, including Calderdale, this Government put in place a comprehensive response and Calderdale has already received over £9.8 million in funding for business and community support.

Specifically for small and medium sized businesses there are three ways we are helping:

- giving flooded businesses business rates relief (£1.6 million for Calderdale)

- providing business recovery grants to help deal with exceptional costs borne by flooded businesses (£1.55 million paid out to businesses to date); and

- grants to incorporate greater flood resilience into any repairs undertaken by flooded businesses, helping to reduce the future impacts of flooding (£52,000 paid out to date to homes and businesses in Calderdale).

Other measures such as getting roads, bridges and rail services back working again and repairing and improving flood defences are also clearly a significant help. This includes the £5.5 m to repair Elland Bridge and to provide a temporary footbridge in the interim.