Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the (a) phase-out start date from August to October 2020 and (b) scheme end date from October to December 2020 of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for the conferencing and exhibitions sector in acknowledgement of the semi-easing of covid-19 lockdown restrictions being permitted for that sector from October 2020.

After eight months of the CJRS, the scheme will close in October.

The CJRS is a temporary scheme and the Government must ensure that people can get back to work when it is safe to do so and get the UK economy up and running again.

It would be very challenging to target the CJRS to specific sectors in a fair and deliverable way, and it is not clear that this is the most effective or sensible way to provide longer term support for those sectors most affected by coronavirus.

It would also be difficult to target the CJRS at specific sectors without creating distortion, particularly as some firms work across multiple sectors. Other business support measures can provide support to specific firms.