Business: Government Assistance

(asked on 26th May 2021) - 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 assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing support to former business owners whose businesses have been liquidated as a result of the covid-19 outbreak and who are unable to start new business ventures as a result of that liquidation disqualifying them from obtaining insurance and other basic business support.


Answered by
Paul Scully Portrait
Paul Scully
This question was answered on 7th June 2021

There is no legislation in the Insolvency Act or Company Directors Disqualification Act that would disqualify a business owner from obtaining insurance and other business support solely as a result of their previous company being subject to liquidation proceedings. A business owner in this position would have access to support from the Government, such as that provided through Growth Hubs and the free Business Support Helpline, on the same terms as any other business. Individual lenders and insurers may have policies in place that would take account of a previous insolvency and this would be a commercial matter for them.

Businesses of all sizes and all stages of growth can access free support and advice from their local Growth Hub, led by Local Enterprise Partnerships in England. Contact details can be found online: www.lepnetwork.net/local-growth-hub-contacts/. Firms based in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have access to similar support through their devolved governments: www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline.

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