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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department is providing to businesses that provide meeting and event spaces and who have been affected by the covid-19 outbreak.

We are aware that the business events industry has been significantly impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. The Government has engaged regularly with the sector over the last few months to continuously assess the situation.

Overall, Government has introduced a range of support for businesses across all sectors in the UK. At this time:

• 8.4 million jobs have been furloughed with £15 billion claimed so far through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). 1million employers have used the Scheme.
• 2.3million Self-employment Income Support (SEISS) claims have been submitted worth £6.8 billion.
• The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) has seen 608,069 approved loans so far worth £18.49 billion.
• Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) has seen 43,045 loans worth £8.15billion approved so far.

The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) has seen 154 approved loans totalling £0.82 billion.