Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps are being taken to reduce the risk of covid-19 infection for food bank (a) teams and (b) users.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Government has put into place measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, protect the NHS, and save lives. Current guidance states that you must not leave, or be outside of your home except where necessary. Exceptions have been made to go to work or provide voluntary or charitable services, if this cannot reasonably be done from home. This only applies in England. There is separate guidance on coronavirus for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In order to reduce the risks relating to coronavirus, volunteers, including those working at food banks, should follow guidance on social distancing (hands, face, space) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-meeting-with-others-safely-social-distancing/coronavirus-covid-19-meeting-with-others-safely-social-distancing and working in a COVID-secure environment https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19. Specific guidance for volunteer-involving organisations and groups on how they can involve volunteers safely in their work during the pandemic is available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/enabling-safe-and-effective-volunteering-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
The government has not made a specific assessment of the effect of COVID-19 infections at UK foodbanks.
The Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport has made a total of £22.7m available to 911 organisations supporting food supply from the £750m voluntary, community and social enterprise sector support package. This will support the ability of foodbanks to provide emergency food aid to people in need.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the effect of covid-19 infection rates on the (a) number of UK foodbank volunteers and (b) ability of foodbanks to provide emergency food aid to people in need.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Government has put into place measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, protect the NHS, and save lives. Current guidance states that you must not leave, or be outside of your home except where necessary. Exceptions have been made to go to work or provide voluntary or charitable services, if this cannot reasonably be done from home. This only applies in England. There is separate guidance on coronavirus for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In order to reduce the risks relating to coronavirus, volunteers, including those working at food banks, should follow guidance on social distancing (hands, face, space) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-meeting-with-others-safely-social-distancing/coronavirus-covid-19-meeting-with-others-safely-social-distancing and working in a COVID-secure environment https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19. Specific guidance for volunteer-involving organisations and groups on how they can involve volunteers safely in their work during the pandemic is available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/enabling-safe-and-effective-volunteering-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
The government has not made a specific assessment of the effect of COVID-19 infections at UK foodbanks.
The Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport has made a total of £22.7m available to 911 organisations supporting food supply from the £750m voluntary, community and social enterprise sector support package. This will support the ability of foodbanks to provide emergency food aid to people in need.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, as of 22 December 2020 how many businesses have (a) applied and (b) secured a Bounce Back Loan Top Up; and how many Bounce Back Loan Top Up loans are being processed by accredited Business Bank Loan banks.
Answered by Paul Scully
As of 13 December 2020, 62,311 Bounce Back Loan Scheme top-ups had been approved, worth £0.56 billion.
Bounce Back Loan figures are also available on the Government website: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hm-treasury-coronavirus-covid-19-business-loan-scheme-statistics
Decisions on whether to capture information relating to the processing of loan applications are at the discretion of the lender.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to encourage banks to allow non-existing customers to access support from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government have always made clear to lenders that they should open to applications from new customers as soon as it is operationally possible for them to do so.
Businesses are free to approach any accredited lender for a Bounce Back Loan.
You can find a full list of accredited lenders on the British Business Bank website:
Asked by: Rehman Chishti (Conservative - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that businesses that are eligible for Bounce Back loans but unable to access them through their bank receive the support they need.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) is currently being delivered through 29 accredited lenders, including several non-banks and alternative lenders. If an eligible business is unable to access the scheme because their bank is not a participant, or their bank is unable to process their application or turns it down, businesses are encouraged to apply for finance with another of the lenders. These accredited lenders are all listed on the British Business Bank’s website[1].
If the application is still unsuccessful, there are other forms of finance available to eligible firms and these can be identified from a number of sources, including the Government’s online finance finder on GOV.UK.
Businesses of all sizes across England, are also encouraged to contact the nearest local government-backed Growth Hub for free impartial advice on accessing the right finance. Expert advisers will be able to discuss alternative sources of support, business planning and building resilience.
The Government’s Business Support Helpline (FREEPHONE 0800 998 1098) also provides free, impartial support and advice to businesses.
Businesses based in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland will be able to access similar support through the Devolved Administrations.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on levels of foodbank use in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Will Quince
There are no official statistics on the number or use of food banks, which are independent, charitable organisations
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance he plans to issue to banks for companies wanting to apply for an extension to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme which need a higher level of finance than they required in March 2020.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government launched the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) to ensure that the smallest businesses could access loans of up to £50,000 in a matter of just days. As of 15 November, the scheme had supported nearly 1.4 million businesses with facilities totaling over £42 billion.
On 2 November, the Government adjusted the BBLS rules to allow those businesses who have borrowed less than their maximum (i.e. the lower of £50,000 or 25% of their turnover) to top-up their existing loan to this maximum. Businesses will be able to make use of this option once. We understand that some businesses did not anticipate the disruption to their business from the pandemic would go on for this long. This change will ensure that they are able to benefit from the loan scheme as intended. Those businesses that require finance of over £50,000 should discuss alternative options with their lenders, including the possibility of refinancing into a loan under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
The Government has also announced the extension of the application deadline for all Covid-19 business loan schemes, including BBLS to 31 January 2021. This extension ensures that businesses have more time to make loan applications, supporting them through the pandemic.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support bank branches at risk of closure during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has worked closely with the financial regulators to ensure that banks, building societies, credit unions and the Post Office continue to maintain branch access for essential banking services while balancing the needs of their customers with the safety and welfare of staff. The vast majority of branches have remained open.
In the longer term, banking service providers will need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering its branch strategy. Decisions on opening and closing branches are taken by the management team of each bank on a commercial basis and the Government does not intervene in these decisions.
However, the Government also firmly believes that the impact of branch closures should be understood, considered, and mitigated where possible so that all customers, wherever they live, continue to have access to over the counter banking services.
Since May 2017, the major high street banks have signed up to the Access to Banking Standard, in which they commit to ensure customers are well informed about branch closures, the bank’s reasons for closure and options for continued access to banking services.
In September 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published guidance setting out their expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of a planned closure on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and other relevant branch services and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This will ensure the implementation of closure decisions is done in a way that treats customers fairly.
Alternative options for access might include the Post Office, where 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers are able to carry out their everyday banking at over 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) agriculture and (b) horticulture in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We recognise the importance of agriculture and horticulture to Lincolnshire, and the contribution of Lincolnshire producers to UK food production.
This week, the Agriculture Act 2020 received royal assent. This has been welcomed by stakeholders, and will allow us to transform the way that we support farmers. Funds released as a result of the phasing out of the legacy subsidies will fulfil our manifesto pledge to be re-invested in a rollout of our future farming policy, which will be centred around support aimed at incentivising sustainable farming practices, creating habitats for nature recovery and supporting the establishment of new woodland and other ecosystem services to help tackle challenges like climate change. We will support farmers to produce high quality food in a more sustainable way and improve transparency in the supply chain to help food producers strengthen their position at the farm gate and seek a fairer return from the marketplace.
The Defra-led Food is GREAT campaign continues to raise the international profile and reputation of food and drink from across the UK, including Lincolnshire. Defra and the Department for International Trade (DIT) are also working together to offer immediate support to help agri-food businesses grow their trade activity overseas. We jointly announced in June 2020 a package of measures including: GREAT DIT Food and Drink Exporting Masterclasses; a Food and Drink SME E-Commerce Accelerator Pilot; fifty Food and Drink Export Champions to encourage aspiring exporters alongside our International Trade Advisor networks; our first Defra Agri Counsellor based in Dubai and serving the wider Gulf region; a programme of physical and virtual events, using innovative, interactive software to?connect buyers, promote the UK and reach international markets; and support from UK Export Finance to identify and respond to the needs of the sector and raise awareness of how UKEF and Trade Finance can help the businesses win and fulfil export contracts.
Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government has provided support to businesses operating in agriculture and horticulture. The COVID-19 Business Interruption Loans Scheme is available to the sector. The Government has been in priority discussions with the banking sector to clarify the position for agricultural and horticultural businesses, with clear guidance issued to the banks. In addition, the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, ensures that the smallest businesses, including those operating in agriculture and horticulture, can access up to £50,000 loans. The Government is providing lenders of this latter scheme with a 100% guarantee on each loan, to provide them with the confidence they need to support the smallest businesses in the country. The Government will also cover the first 12 months of interest payments and fees charged to the business by the lender. We have also launched specific funds to help businesses with particular difficulties, such as our Dairy Response Fund.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many banks are offering loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
There are currently 115 lenders accredited to provide loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Accredited lenders include a range of alternative finance providers alongside more traditional banks.