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 businesses that have received state aid during the covid-19 outbreak to help them address (a) long-term debt and (b) the risk of insolvency.

The Government has supported millions of firms over the course of the crisis to date, helping them protect jobs and stay in operation, ready to form part of the recovery.

We are aware that many companies have taken on substantial amounts of debt during the pandemic. Some of these companies have never taken on debt before and will need support to manage their debts and repayments. We are aware of external proposals by think tanks and other bodies to support companies to recapitalise and we regularly consider a variety of policy ideas to identify the best way to support businesses through and beyond the pandemic.