Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of job losses and business closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic on (1) women, and (2) ethnic minorities; and what action they are taking as a result.

Throughout this crisis, the Government has sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods whilst supporting businesses and public services across the UK. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is specifically designed to protect jobs, and it has been used by 1.3m employers to support 11.2m jobs. Since July, more than half of the jobs that have been furloughed were held by women, and we have ensured that women will not lose Statutory Maternity Pay if their roles have been furloughed.

We recognise that unfortunately it has not been possible to protect every business and every job and our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by this virus. While the pandemic has had a significant impact across the whole labour market, certain groups have been more affected than others. For example, the latest official statistics show that individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to be out of work. Existing Covid-19 support measures and the measures announced at Budget 2021 seek to address this.

The new Restart Grants will provide up to £6k for non-essential retail businesses and up to £18k for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gyms, for example. The hospitality and personal care sectors have a higher proportion of employees that are young, female, BAME and without qualifications when compared to other industries. By contributing to business survival, these grants will therefore benefit these groups as a result.

Moreover, VAT reductions and extending business rates relief for businesses in the hospitality sector will continue to protect both the UK economy and the livelihoods of people across the country, in particular BAME employees and women.