Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of supermarkets on increasing the number of food bank collection points.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Defra has well-established ways of working with the food industry sectors. We are liaising with retailers regularly to discuss various issues including food banks.
We welcome the efforts of industry to support the operation of food banks and front-line charities during the coronavirus pandemic, including through generous donations of food. Retailers have also implemented a number of solutions to make it easy for customers to make donations to food banks by setting up donation points in store, in addition to making direct donations to food banks.
For those in severe financial difficulties, the Government announced up to £16 million to provide food for charities and other organisations supporting those who are struggling as a result of the coronavirus. The programme will provide millions of meals over 12 weeks. As part of this, Defra has also opened up the £3.5 million Food Charities Grant Fund for front-line food aid charities, offering grants up to £100,000, to support charities to continue to provide food to vulnerable people. On 10 June the Prime Minister announced over £60 million in support to local authorities in England to help people who are struggling to afford food and other essentials during the coronavirus pandemic.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to encourage more (a) food producers and (b) supermarkets to increase levels of donations to (i) food banks and (ii) other food poverty alleviation schemes.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Supermarkets are donating money and food to local communities, charities and food banks to respond to COVID-19. For example, Tesco is providing a £30 million package of support that includes a £25 million food donations programme. Sainsbury's has donated £3 million to FareShare, Asda donated £5 million to food banks and community charities to help people through COVID-19 and Morrisons has promised £10 million of dedicated stock to be set aside for local food banks. Other supermarkets have also made donations.
For those who find themselves in severe financial difficulties, the Government announced up to £16 million to provide food for charities and other organisations supporting those who are struggling as a result of coronavirus. The programme is providing millions of meals over 12 weeks and is being delivered through charities including FareShare and the Waste and Resources Action Programme. This builds on the generous donations already provided by the industry, including supermarkets.
As part of this, Defra has also opened up the £3.5 million Food Charities Grant Fund for front-line food aid charities, offering grants up to £100,000 to support charities to continue to provide food to vulnerable people.
On 10 June the Prime Minister announced over £60 million in support to local authorities in England to help people who are struggling to afford food and other essentials because of COVID-19.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the risk to business owners' personal assets of banks, that supply loans as part of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, requiring the owners of the applicant businesses to provide personal guarantees of the 20 per cent of the value of the loan which is not covered by the Government's guarantee on applicants' personal financial circumstances; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
We have made no specific assessment.
We would expect a lender to follow its normal credit policy when assessing additional security generally. Personal guarantees of any form cannot be used in respect of any Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) facilities up to £250,000. For facilities of £250,000 and over, claims on personal guarantees applied to the scheme facility cannot exceed 20% of losses on the scheme facility after all other recoveries have been applied. A Principal Private Residence cannot be taken as security to support a personal guarantee.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions officials in his Department have had with the retail banking sector on (a) support for business customers who operated unsecured overdraft facilities for pre-planned expenditure and (b) transitioning these customers into alternative lending arrangements where their operations have been affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government recognises that the outbreak of COVID-19 may lead to businesses facing financial difficulty and uncertainty. In response, the Government has set out an unprecedented package of support for businesses, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).
Under CBILS, borrowers can apply for finance facilities of up to £5 million from 95 accredited lenders. No interest or fees will be charged to the customer during the first 12 months. Under CLBILS, borrowers can apply for finance facilities of up to £200 million (subject to a cap of 25% of turnover). Overdraft facilities are available under both schemes. Bounce Back Loans are also available for the smallest businesses to access finance quickly. Businesses can access loans of up to £50,000, subject to a maximum of 25% of turnover, with no repayments due for the first 12 months. To date, these schemes have provided over £40bn finance to over 970,000 businesses. The Government continues to work with banks and other finance providers to help SMEs access the finance they need.
More broadly, many lenders are also offering support for their customers outside the Government-backed loans schemes, including through for example, repayment holidays and arranging fee-free overdraft extensions.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers to adapt their business models during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government wants a profitable and resilient farming sector. We will always champion our farmers and growers by supporting them to produce more of our great British food and drink, providing a reliable and sustainable food supply to the British public.
At the outset of the pandemic, we introduced a number of measures to support our farming sectors through this difficult period. These included relaxing drivers’ hours, temporarily relaxing certain elements of competition law and a dairy response fund to help those dairy farmers most in need of support. We have also worked closely with the dairy and horticulture sectors to address supply chain and labour issues.
We have been in close discussion with banks to ensure the farming sector has access to financial support to ease cashflow problems during this period, including through the HMG backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBIL), and the Bounce Back Loan scheme.
The Agriculture Bill provides the legislative basis for longer term transition to support investment in a more productive and sustainable farming sector.
It will allow us to introduce ambitious new land management schemes in England, based on the principle of "public money for public goods", so that we can reward farmers and land managers who protect our environment, improve animal welfare and produce high quality food in a more sustainable way. The Bill will also help farmers to stay competitive, with measures to increase productivity and invest in new technology.
Last week, Defra and the Department for International Trade launched a package of support that will offer immediate support to help agriculture, food and drink businesses grow their trade activity overseas. This will help producers, manufacturers and agri-tech companies across the food supply chain, from farm to fork.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide support to people who have fallen behind on their credit card and bill payments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government recognises that the outbreak of COVID-19 may lead to consumers facing financial difficulty and uncertainty.
The major banks and building societies have pledged to provide relief to customers impacted by COVID-19, including deferring mortgage and other loan repayments, waiving fees on savings accounts, and increasing overdraft or credit card limits.
On 9 April the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also announced a series of measures intended to provide emergency support to consumers who are facing temporary cash flow problems as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. These measures came into force on Tuesday 14 April.
These measures include, allowing consumers either a 3-month payment holiday or to make nominal payments towards credit cards, store cards, catalogue credit and certain personal loan agreements. It is important to note that lenders can continue to charge interest during this 3-month period. Customers should contact their lender if they are experiencing short-term cash flow problems and would benefit from these measures.
In their guidance for firms, the FCA set out their expectation that the payment deferrals described here should not worsen the arrears status of a consumer’s credit file during the payment deferral period.
The Chancellor has also announced a wide package of economic support measures including the Self-employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses and consumers during this pandemic.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help small- and medium-sized businesses access extended credit terms.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government announced an unprecedented support package to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) through this challenging time, including the Government-backed loan schemes.
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) provides Government-backed finance of up to £5m per business, helping SMEs who risk becoming unviable during this period. The scheme has provided over 49,000 finance facilities worth a value of over £10.1bn. The Bounce Back Loans Scheme (BBLS), ensures that the smallest businesses can access the finance they need in a matter of days. The scheme so far has provided over 863,000 loan facilities worth over £26bn.
The Government also continues to work with banks and other finance providers to help SMEs access the finance they need, and welcomes lenders ongoing support for customers, such as repayment holidays and fee-free overdraft extensions.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of individuals self-isolating on the ability of small family-run farms to continue to operate during that isolation.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We understand the challenges that farmers are facing as a result of the coronavirus crisis and appreciate that many farms are very small and often family-run so there is limited capacity to cover sickness. We have been working with the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and others to work out ways how to address this.
The Government's priority has always been to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections by keeping workers safe and protected, and we have been clear that anyone showing symptoms of coronavirus infection, however mild, must self-isolate by staying at home for seven days from when the symptoms started, following public health guidance.
The Government took a number of early steps to help our farmers and to ensure they have the support they need during these challenging times. These included designating employees in the food sector as key workers and temporarily relaxing the normal rules on drivers' hours, enabling the sector to keep supply chains running, including deliveries from farm gate to processors. We have worked closely with banks to ensure farmers have access to financial support, including the Government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan scheme.
We remain in regular contact with our food and farming sector, and are working closely with the main farming charities, meeting them regularly, to ensure we are doing all we can to support them. A Government-backed package of £370 million has been made available to help small charities and we are encouraging farming charities to apply for funding through this route.
Further information on what support is currently available can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they require accredited banks to take a super-senior position when granting Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme loans.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Except in respect of a residential development facility, a Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) facility must at all times during its life, rank on at least a pari passu basis with the most senior obligations (including secured and/or super-senior obligations, if any) of the Borrower. This includes from all collateral taken by any lender from the borrower unless the borrower is a financing vehicle, whereby this will include any collateral from any member of its Group.
There are certain carveouts from this requirement including:
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what levels of security they recommend accredited banks take when granting Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme loans.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We would expect a lender to follow its normal credit policy when assessing additional security generally. Personal guarantees of any form cannot be used in respect of any Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) facilities up to £250,000. For facilities of £250,000 and over, claims on personal guarantees applied to the scheme facility cannot exceed 20% of losses on the scheme facility after all other recoveries have been applied.