Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What steps he is taking to support the reopening of sport, hospitality and leisure venues during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
In the last twelve months, billions in funding has been provided to support the hospitality and arts, entertainment and recreation sectors through a combination of grants, loans, and business rate relief. The Culture Recovery Fund and Sports Recovery packages have provided close to £2.5 billion in sector specific support.
The Events Research programme, starting in April, comprises a series of scientific pilots conducted across a range of settings to explore how reopening can be facilitated safely.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to engage with representatives of regional shopping centre providers to ensure that the needs of those centres are considered as part of the economic recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Government meets regularly with representatives of both landlord and tenant sector bodies including those with interests in regional shopping centres. These meetings have informed Government policy towards the commercial property sector throughout the pandemic and continue to do so.
The Government is committed to supporting the retail sector and we are working closely with industry through these unprecedented times. To support businesses through the next stage of the pandemic, the Government is extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until the end of September 2021, will continue to provide eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England with 100% business rates relief until 30 June 2021, and will provide additional one-off ‘Restart Grants’ for businesses in England in the non-essential retail and hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation sectors.
The Government has also announced a call for evidence from the wider commercial property industry, including lenders, investors and industry professionals, to help monitor the overall progress of negotiations on rent and other matters between landlords and tenants and to ensure that the voices of the harder to reach businesses in the sector are heard.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making a financial support package available to the nightlife industry before it can reopen from 21 June 2021.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government understands that the nightlife industry has been acutely impacted by the pandemic. It has delivered support to this sector over the past year through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), VAT and business rates relief, a moratorium on evictions to protect commercial tenants, cash grants to protect businesses, extensions to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), and ‘Pay as You Grow’ options for businesses which have taken out loans through BBLS, giving a longer repayment period and allowing further flexibility on repayments.
As restrictions ease and the economy is gradually and safely reopened, the Government will carefully tailor the level of support to individuals and businesses to reflect the changing circumstances. The Budget on 3 March outlined the next stage in the Government’s Plan for Jobs including on economic support to protect jobs and livelihoods across the UK. Measures businesses in the nightlife industry will benefit from include:
The Government is continuing to collect evidence on the impact of the pandemic on the nightlife industry and is committed to working with businesses and representative groups to inform our efforts to support it.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending business rates exemptions and the temporary VAT reduction to businesses in the wedding industry.
Answered by Jesse Norman
This year, due to the direct adverse effects of COVID-19, the Government has provided an unprecedented business rates holiday for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. The Government has also frozen the business rates multiplier for all businesses for 2021-22.
The temporary VAT reduced rate came into effect on 15 July 2020 and was initially scheduled to end on 12 January 2021. The Government extended the reduced rate of VAT (five per cent) until 31 March 2021.
The Government has provided various schemes to support firms, including those in the wedding industry, including Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans, Bounce Back Loans, grants and VAT deferrals.
The Budget will set out the next phase of the Government’s plans to tackle the virus, protect jobs and support business.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with representatives of the gambling industry on the effect of the covid-19 lockdowns and local covid-19 restrictions on levels of employment in (a) the gambling industry and (b) adult gaming centres.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Prime Minister announced on Monday 22 February that indoor entertainment venues, which will include Adult Gaming Centres, will open at Step 3 of the roadmap, not before 17 May. The design of the roadmap has been informed by the latest scientific evidence and seeks a balance between our key social and economic priorities, while preserving the health and safety of the country.
At next week’s Budget the Chancellor will set out the next phase in our economic support package to reflect the steps set out in the Prime Minister’s roadmap to easing restrictions, tailoring support for individuals and businesses to reflect the changing public health restrictions.
The government recognises that the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be extremely challenging for businesses, including in the arcades sector. That is why we have introduced a number of unprecedented financial packages to help to ease pressures and help businesses navigate through this crisis, including extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, introducing £4.6 billion in lockdown grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses and providing further discretionary funding for Local Authorities.
We are continuing to work with organisations in the land-based gambling sector to understand the impacts and how we may be able to support them. Currently, we estimate that up to 5% of adult gaming centres (AGCs) have ceased trading with roughly 10.1% of jobs lost in the past twelve months. This estimate is based on recent discussions with Bacta, the trade association for the arcades sector. We know that there are also significant job losses across the land-based gambling sector from discussions with the Betting and Gaming Council and the Bingo Association.
As set out in response to question 149200 on 9 February, the government has published guidance to help businesses understand how to make workplaces Covid-secure and help tackle the spread of the virus. AGCs should follow the shops and branches guidance in addition to Bacta’s specific guidance for FECs and AGCs to ensure they can operate as safely as possible when they are open.
The shops and branches workplace guidance was intended as guidance for those businesses on how they could operate safely when the regulations permitted them to do so after the first national lockdown and beyond. It does not have a direct bearing on the timing for reopening of the businesses included in the guidance.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the length of time of the operation of the (a) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, (b) business rates relief scheme and (c) the five per cent VAT rate for the hospitality and leisure sectors.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In order to support businesses retaining their employees and protect the UK economy, the Chancellor has already extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) until the end of April 2021. As of 13 December, the CJRS has helped 1.2 million employers across the UK to furlough 9.9 million jobs, protecting people’s livelihoods with £46.4 billion having been paid out in grants. The Government has also provided an unprecedented business rates holiday for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties due to the direct adverse effects of COVID-19, worth over £10 billion, as well as cutting VAT on hospitality and tourism from twenty per cent to five per cent.
The Government is considering options for COVID-19 support measures for 2021-22, and will outline these at the Budget.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of extending the VAT cut for the hospitality and leisure industries on levels of job retention in (a) the gambling industry and (b) adult gaming centres.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July to support the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and protect 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and will run until 31 March 2021.
This policy will cost over £2 billion and it is necessary for a boundary for eligibility to be drawn. The Government keeps all taxes under review, and any future decisions on tax policy will be made at Budget.
The Government has announced a significant support package to help businesses from a whole range of sectors through the winter months, which includes an extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, an extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, and an extension of the application window for the Government-backed loan schemes.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending business rates exemptions and the temporary VAT reduction for businesses in the wedding industry to relieve the financial pressure on the sector resulting from the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
This year the Government has provided an unprecedented business rates holiday for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties due to the direct adverse effects of COVID-19, worth over £10 billion, and has frozen the business rates multiplier for all businesses for 2021-22.
The temporary VAT reduced rate came into effect on 15 July 2020 and was initially scheduled to end on 12 January 2021. In order to continue supporting the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and to protect 2.4 million jobs, the Government extended the temporary reduced rate of VAT (five per cent) to goods and services supplied by the tourism and hospitality sectors until 31 March 2021. The Government continues to keep all taxes under review, and any tax decisions will be made at Budget.
The Government has provided various schemes to support firms overall, including Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans, Bounce Back Loans, grants and VAT deferrals.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What steps his Department is taking to support businesses in the (a) hospitality, (b) entertainment and (c) arts and culture sectors.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We know that businesses in arts, culture, entertainment and hospitality have been hit hard by this pandemic. That's why we secured an unprecedented £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund of which over £1 billion has so far been allocated so far to over 3000 organisations.
This is along a world class package of broader economy measures worth hundreds of billions, including the furloughing scheme and the Self Employed Income Support Scheme
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide a long-term financial support package specific to the hospitality sector.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector to understand the impact the pandemic has had.
Businesses forced to legally close, including those in the hospitality sector, can currently claim a one-off grant of up to £9,000. This one-off grant comes in addition to the grants worth up to £3,000 for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses once they reopen. The Government has also provided £1.6 billion of Discretionary Grant funding for local authorities to target support to the businesses that are most important to their local economy.
This is in addition to the wide ranging package of support already available, including:
The Government keeps all available business support under review and is continuing to collect evidence on the impact of the pandemic on these industries. The Government is committed to working with businesses and representative groups to ensure that support provided is right for this industry and the economy through the long-term.