Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that Chinatowns around the UK are able to recover from the covid-19 outbreak.

We have put in place one of the world’s most comprehensive economic responses worth £400 billion – to protect jobs, businesses, and public services throughout and beyond this pandemic. On 21 December, the Chancellor announced a further £1 billion funding for hospitality and leisure businesses, including more than £100 million boost to the additional restrictions grant fund for local authorities in England to support other businesses impacted by the Omicron variant.

The Government has allocated over £13 billion directly to councils in England since the start of the pandemic to tackle the impacts of Covid-19. Over £6 billion is unringfenced in recognition that local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the major Covid-19 pressures in their local area.