Coronavirus has affected every area of our lives, including our economy, and the challenge now facing businesses is huge.

The Government has announced support for businesses on an enormous scale – while this has been very much welcome, many local business tell me that they have been overlooked. One area of concern is the Government’s business grants schemes – the Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund.

As things stand, many businesses cannot access the grant schemes, as loopholes and gaps have emerged that mean that many are not eligible. I’m concerned that unless these loopholes are addressed rapidly, many hard-working businesses in my constituency will struggle to keep going for much longer.

I’ve written to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ask that the Government urgently reviews and amends its business grant schemes, to ensure that the futures of these businesses, and the jobs they provide, are not unnecessarily jeopardised.

You can see my letter here: