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

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the requirement for Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme applications to include a business plan means that cashflow statements are required; and if so, what assessment they have made of whether it is appropriate to request such cash flow statements when the effect and duration of the pandemic is unclear.

Since the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme was launched, Government has listened to feedback from stakeholders and made changes to ensure that loans are processed as quickly as possible and businesses get the support they need.

Government has removed the forward-looking viability test that required an assessment of whether the business can trade out of the crisis. The only test that remains is whether a business was viable before Covid-19.