Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Support for Businesses: Covid-19

Wednesday 28 April 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The UK Government's Budget provides continued support and security to manage the ongoing impacts of covid-19.
  • One in three jobs in Scotland has been supported by the UK Government's employment support package.
  • Scottish businesses have benefited from more than 3.4 billion of loans and support.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sally-Ann Hart
Economy Scotland Business & Trade
Context

The MP inquired about the assessment of economic support given to Scottish businesses amidst the pandemic.

Question

What assessment has been made of the adequacy of economic support for Scottish businesses during the covid-19 outbreak?

Answer from Iain Stewart

Last month's Budget provides continued UK-wide support and security to manage the ongoing impacts of covid-19. One in three jobs in Scotland has been supported by the UK Government's employment support package; Scottish businesses have benefited from more than £3.4 billion of loans and support; and we have provided a much needed boost to the Scottish tourism and hospitality sector with our UK-wide extension of the VAT reduction.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The assessment of adequacy was not directly addressed, only mentioning existing measures without evaluating their effectiveness.

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Q2 Sally-Ann Hart
Scotland
Context

The MP highlighted a report by Scotland's Auditor General that revealed £9.7 billion received from UK Government had only £7 billion worth of spending announcements, leaving £2.7 billion unallocated.

Question

Does my hon. Friend agree that this highlights the need for transparency and scrutiny of Scottish Government spending, as people in Scotland have a right to know how much money is being spent to help Scotland deal with the pandemic?

Answer from Iain Stewart

My hon. Friend is right to draw the House's attention to this alarming finding. People in Scotland want to know that the money that this Government have provided is reaching them and their businesses, and it is of great concern that Audit Scotland has identified this shortfall. I absolutely agree that there must be maximum transparency on this matter.

Answered
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