More than £40m. of government loans paid to out to businesses in Pendle during outbreak

Headline figures include £42m. paid out to local businesses in the form of Bounce Back Loans, which provides loans of up to £50,000 within days of an application, and £22m. worth of grants has been handed out to businesses in Pendle, which do not need to be paid back.

ASround 14,000 people in Pendle have had their job protected through the Job Retention Scheme, which has allowed employers to furlough workers while the Government has provided up to 80% of their wages.

Self-employed people in Pendle have also accessed £8.4m. worth of Government grants, which do not need to be paid back, to cover lost earnings.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said: "This year has been hugely challenging for people and businesses in Pendle, and these latest figures demonstrate the scale of support that the Conservative Government has put in place to support lives and local livelihoods.

“As we now work to restart our economy, I have no doubt that the Government will continue to support people in our local community. Schemes such as the hugely popular Eat Out to Help Out are already proving a huge success at getting customers back into local businesses.

“Never has the Conservatives’ agenda to level up the whole county been so important – giving businesses the confidence to retain and hire, create jobs and ensure young people have the opportunity of a better start in Pendle.”

While much of this support has been focused on supporting people through the immediate crisis, the Government has recently set out the next phase of its economic response.

In June, the Prime Minister unveiled the New Deal for Britain – accelerating billions of pounds worth of infrastructure projects to get the country building and kickstart the economy – followed by the Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs in July, which set out how the Government intends to create, protect and support jobs in the months ahead, backed by up to £30 billion.