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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps have been taken to enable the aluminium industry to access the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is open to eligible businesses with annual turnover of under £45m operating in most sectors, including the aluminium industry.

To be eligible for the CBILS, businesses must:

• be UK-based in their business activity, with turnover of no more than £45 million per year;
• have a borrowing proposal which, were it not for the current pandemic, would be considered viable by the lender; and
• self-certify that they have been adversely impacted by the Coronavirus (Covid-19).

For more information on the scheme, businesses should visit the British Business Bank website: www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-schemes/clbils/

The Government has responded to feedback to ensure that companies feel the full benefits of available support through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) by:

• Extending the scheme so that all viable small businesses affected by Covid-19;
• Removing previous restrictions on the following groups to enable them to access the CBILS, subject to other eligibility criteria being met: Employer, professional, religious or political membership organisations and trade unions;
• Removing the ability for lenders to ask for personal guarantees for loans under £250,000, and reducing the personal guarantee for loans over £250,000 to 20% of the outstanding balance after recoveries;
• Introducing technical changes to ensure that applications will be processed faster;
• Removing the forward-looking viability test; and
• Removing the per lender portfolio cap.

The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) facilitates access to finance for medium-sized and larger businesses with annual turnover of above £45 million, affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. This is also open to eligible businesses operating in most sectors, including the aluminium industry.

The Government will continue to monitor the schemes.