Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to extend business rates relief to the leisure industry supply chain.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has provided enhanced support to eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.
The Government understands the impact that COVID-19 has had on businesses, and has provided various schemes to support firms, including those within the supply chain, including Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans, Bounce Back Loans, grants and VAT deferrals.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a scheme to incentivise gym and leisure club membership following the current lockdown similar to the Eat Out To Help Out scheme made available to the hospitality industry over summer 2020.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus. That’s why we have made sure that people can exercise throughout the national and local tiered restrictions. We will continue to promote exercise throughout the pandemic and encourage the usage of sports facilities including gyms when they are able to open again.
Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. On top of wider economic support, the Government has announced a £100m support fund for local authority leisure centres to ensure these important facilities remain available once public health restrictions are lifted.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the provision of a 12-month Business Rates holiday to businesses in the flexible workspace industry.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.
The Government will outline plans for 2021-22 reliefs in due course. If any business is in a difficult position with regard to business rates bills, they are encouraged to contact their local authority to discuss whether other support may be available.
A range of measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for business rates relief such as flexible workspaces, has also been made available, including grant payments through local authorities, and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of potential job losses in the events and hospitality industry in 2021.
Answered by Paul Scully
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector to understand the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.
Hospitality and events businesses have been able to benefit from Government support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Government-backed loans, Local Restrictions Support Grants, additional funding provided to Local Authorities to support businesses and the Cultural Relief Fund.
On 5 January, when the new National Lockdown began, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a one-off top up grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the spring. A £594 million discretionary fund has also been made available to support other impacted businesses.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support the hospitality industry during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown period.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
On 5 January the Chancellor announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring.
The cash is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK. This grant comes in addition to the Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month for closed businesses.
A further £594 million is also being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions. This funding also comes in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities.
The Government is also delivering support to the hospitality sector through:
The Government is continuing to collect evidence on the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry and work with businesses and representative groups to ensure that support provided is right for this industry and the economy as a whole.
Asked by: Alan Campbell (Labour - Tynemouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake an immediate review of all covid-19 related support available to the hospitality sector in order to implement changes to the structure and format of support to allow suppliers to benefit alongside venues.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government recognises that businesses within the hospitality supply chain have been acutely disrupted by recent necessary restrictions to hospitality businesses. The Government has acted to deliver support to these businesses, and ease cash flow problems for businesses through:
In addition to this wide-ranging package of support, we have also ensured businesses can access affordable, Government backed finance through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBLS) for larger firms and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBL) for small and micro enterprises. Under both CBILS and BBLS, invoice finance facilities in addition to term loans, overdrafts, and asset financing facilities are available to eligible businesses. Businesses will also be given until the end of March to access the BBLS, CBILS, and the CLBLS. ‘Pay as You Grow’ options are also available for businesses which have taken out loans through BBLS or CBILS, giving a longer repayment period and allowing further flexibility on repayments.
These businesses have and will continue to benefit directly from Government support schemes, and indirectly from the support offered to the pubs and restaurants they supply, protecting jobs in the industry. In the meantime, the Government will continue to engage with the sector and keep under review the case for further interventions, including measures to ease cash flow problems.
Asked by: Alan Campbell (Labour - Tynemouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will increase access to funding for the supply chain of the hospitality sector during the covid-19 outbreak potentially through invoice factoring to ease cash flow as suppliers commit resources to hospitality restart.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government recognises that businesses within the hospitality supply chain have been acutely disrupted by recent necessary restrictions to hospitality businesses. The Government has acted to deliver support to these businesses, and ease cash flow problems for businesses through:
In addition to this wide-ranging package of support, we have also ensured businesses can access affordable, Government backed finance through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBLS) for larger firms and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBL) for small and micro enterprises. Under both CBILS and BBLS, invoice finance facilities in addition to term loans, overdrafts, and asset financing facilities are available to eligible businesses. Businesses will also be given until the end of March to access the BBLS, CBILS, and the CLBLS. ‘Pay as You Grow’ options are also available for businesses which have taken out loans through BBLS or CBILS, giving a longer repayment period and allowing further flexibility on repayments.
These businesses have and will continue to benefit directly from Government support schemes, and indirectly from the support offered to the pubs and restaurants they supply, protecting jobs in the industry. In the meantime, the Government will continue to engage with the sector and keep under review the case for further interventions, including measures to ease cash flow problems.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to support the UK's fashion and textile industry to rebuild following the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government continues to offer a comprehensive support package for businesses including loan schemes, grant funding, tax deferrals, the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all of which have been designed to be accessible to businesses in most sectors and across the UK.
On 5 January, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £594 million discretionary fund to support other impacted businesses outside of the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, which is in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities and Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month.
Ministers and officials in the Department and across Government continue to regularly engage with the fashion and textiles industry to explore ways in which Government can support long term recovery in the sector.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support the recovery of (a) theatres (b) the exhibitions sector and (c) live industries in London ahead of the summer 2021 season; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We are aware that COVID-19 and related restrictions have severely impacted these sectors and their supply chains. We continue to engage with stakeholders through the Tourism Industry Council, the Events Industry Senior Leaders Panel and the Venues Steering Group. These groups include representatives from leading sector organisations and other experts to develop action plans for how we can best support the sector’s safe reopening.
Theatre, the exhibitions sector and live music and festivals have been eligible to access Government COVID-19 support. This includes various government-backed loans, business grants, reduction in VAT and the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes. The recently announced discretionary Local Restrictions Support Grant and Additional Restrictions Grant provides Local Authorities with funds to support businesses who meet the eligibility criteria in the guidance here, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-local-restrictions-support-grant-for-closed-businesses And on 5th January the Chancellor announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring.
Theatres and live music have also benefited from the Cultural Recovery Fund. As of 11 December, £1 billion worth of funding from the Culture Recovery Fund has been allocated across all four nations of the UK. In England CRF funding has benefited over 3,000 organisations, with over £300m awarded to London through grants and repayable finance awards.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to provide additional support to the hospitality and night time sector during the second wave of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government understands that this is a very challenging time for the UK’s hospitality sector and night-time businesses, and recognises that the hospitality sector has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. Throughout the crisis the Government’s priority has been to protect lives and livelihoods. The Government is delivering support to this sector and these businesses through:
The Government is continuing to collect evidence on the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry and work with businesses and representative groups to ensure that support provided is right for this industry and the economy as a whole.