Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what timescale the Government plans to allow companies to seek Government funding for bailouts under Project Birch.

As part of its normal operations the government has always considered providing support to strategically important companies that can reasonably be expected to have a long-term viable future, and whose failure or distress could cause disproportionate harm to the UK economy or society. Companies must have exhausted all other options before being considered, and any support given is on terms that protect the taxpayer, with existing lenders and shareholders expected to contribute to, and share in, the financial burden.