Manufacturing Industries: Coronavirus

(asked on 1st May 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 steps the Government is taking to support original equipment manufacturers to re-shore industrial supply where viable during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Nadhim Zahawi Portrait
Nadhim Zahawi
This question was answered on 12th May 2020

Manufacturing is a critical part of our economy?and?we are engaging with the industry and its suppliers to ensure that we can support them?during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

We have created an unprecedented package of Government support to help, including:

- £330 billion of Government-backed and guaranteed loans to support UK businesses.

- The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to help small and medium-sized businesses to access vital financial support.

- Our new Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme to allow more firms to benefit from Government-backed support during this difficult time.

- Deferring VAT payments for firms to the next quarter, until the end of June 2020, which represents a £30 billion injection into the economy.

- Our Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, where small and large employers will be eligible to apply for a Government grant of 80% of workers’ salaries up to £2,500 a month, backdated to 1 March 2020 and available for at least three months.

Ensuring free trade and resilient supply chains through open markets will be crucial to the global economic recovery as the crisis passes. We are working with the Devolved Administrations to support the manufacturing industry by continuing the flow of critical freight for the whole of the UK.

The Government is also supporting industry-led research to map UK supply chain capability, which creates substantial new opportunities for UK suppliers.

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