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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the accessibility of grants to research and development companies that have faced financial losses during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government is aware of the pressures on business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and has sought to protect R&D intensive businesses throughout the crisis, so they can continue to develop new innovative products and help power the UK’s recovery.

In April 2020, we announced a £1.25 billion package to help innovative firms through the pandemic. The comprehensive package included £750 million of targeted grant and loan support, delivered by Innovate UK, for small and medium sized businesses focusing on research and development.