Council Grant Funding

Table of Contents

Overview

As of last Friday, November 13, money is being transferred to councils in England and businesses can expect to receive funds covering the 4-week period of national restrictions in the coming days and should check their council’s website for details.

Small businesses in England will receive a significant £2.2bn from the government to help them through the current period of national restrictions.

Significant grant funding is being delivered across England. With localised support also available across the rest of the UKI discover the available grants and find out how much your business could be entitled to receive.

At a glance:

  • Grants of £2.2bn to be distributed to businesses across England by councils
  • Money was being transferred to councils in England from last Friday for distribution
  • Businesses will benefit from 2 grant schemes: Local Restrictions Support Grant and Additional Restrictions Grant.

The Grant Schemes

Find below the details of;

  1. Local Lockdown Restrictions Support Grant: This is for businesses which have had to close or have been severely impacted by local restrictions. (hospitality, leisure and non­essential retail sectors). Find details below.
  2. Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG): The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) provides local councils with grant funding to support closed businesses that do not directly pay business rates as well as businesses that do not have to close but are however impacted. Find details below.

Businesses are urged to engage with their local authority and ensure that council officials have contact and payment information for them.

1. Local Lockdown Restrictions Support Grants

Tier 3 – Closed business grants

Businesses in England which have been forced to close due to local lockdowns are eligible for grants worth up to £3000 a month.

On October 9, the Chancellor announced an increase to the previous cash grants offered to businesses in England that are shut due to local lockdowns. To qualify for the grant, a business must have been required to close due to local restrictions.

Latest grants and eligibility

  • Properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under will receive grants of £667 per two weeks of closure (£1,334 per month).
  • Properties with a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive grants of £1,000 per two weeks of closure (£2,000 per month).
  • Properties with a rateable value of £51,000 or over will receive grants of £1500 per two weeks of closure (£3,000 per month).

The government is also extending the scheme to include businesses which have been forced to close on a national rather than a local basis.

These grants will be paid in fortnightly instalments and based on the rateable value of the business’s property, with up to £3,000 a month on offer.

The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will also benefit from a £1.3bn increase to their guaranteed funding for 2020-21 – allowing them to continue their response to Covid-19 including through similar measures if they wish.

Further grant for business impacted by Tier 2 restrictions

In addition, the Chancellor announced on October 22 an increase to the cash grants offered to businesses in tier 2 restrictions, even if not legally closed.

These grants will be paid in fortnightly instalments and based on the rateable value of the business’s property, with up to £2,100 a month on offer.

This will primarily be for businesses in the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sector who may be adversely impacted by the restrictions in these high-alert level areas.

  • For properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under, grants of £934 per month.
  • For properties with a rateable value of between £15,000-£51,000, grants of £1,400 per month.
  • For properties with a rateable value of £51,000, grants of £2,100 per month.

They are additional to the grants of up to £3,000 available (above) for businesses who have been legally required to close and will also be retrospective grants, so businesses can backdate them to August if they’ve been operating in areas with enhanced restrictions since then. The grants could benefit around 150,000 businesses in England.

Business grants available in Scotland

From Monday, November 2, firms that are required by law to close will be eligible for grants every four weeks for as long as the restrictions last. Based on rateable values, awards will be for either £2,000 or £3,000.

Businesses which can remain open, but are directly constrained by the measures, will be eligible for grants worth £1,400 or £2,100, again based on rateable value.

As with other business grants, local grants to closed businesses will be treated as taxable income.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said that the package will offer additional breathing space for businesses that have had to temporarily close to control the virus, adding that ‘no business should be punished for doing the right thing’.

Grants for Wales’ Businesses in Local Lockdown

The Walsh Government has allocated £60millions to support businesses affected by restrictions and to assist with cash flow support, helping them survive the economic consequences of the COVID-19 restrictions put in place in their local area.

The two grants are as follows:

  • Local Lockdown Non Domestic Rate Grant

 These grants are for firms liable for paying business rates. A grant of £5,000 will be available for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses occupying properties with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £51,000. A grant of £1,000 will be provided to businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) with a rateable value of £12,000 or less.

  • Local Lockdown Discretionary Grant

 A grant of £1,500 is available to firms that have been forced to close as a result of the national firebreak lockdown or are able to demonstrate that the national firebreak lockdown will result in at least a 80% reduction in their turnover for that period.

A grant of £2,000 is available to assist businesses that have also satisfied the conditions of above, but furthermore, have been subject to local restrictions for 3 weeks or more up to the 23rd October and experienced at least a 50% reduction in their turnover for that period.

Firms cannot apply for Grant 1 and Grant 2, and are ineligible for this grant if they are eligible for, or have received, the Lockdown Non-Domestic Rate Grant from their Local Authority.

Northern Ireland Schemes Restrictions Business Support

The Restrictions Business Support Scheme (CRBSS) will operate in two parts.

2. Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) 

The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) provides local councils with grant funding to support closed businesses that do not directly pay business rates as well as businesses that do not have to close but which are impacted.

Local councils can determine which businesses to target and determine the amount of funding from the ARG.

Eligibility

The funding is expected to help those businesses which – while not legally forced to close – are nonetheless severely impacted by the restrictions.

This could include:

  • Businesses which supply the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors
  • Businesses in the events sector
  • Business required to close but which do not pay business rates
  • Businesses excluded from the fund

You cannot get funding, however, if your business is in administration, insolvent or has been struck off the Companies House register.

Local authorities will receive a sum of money equivalent to £20 per head of their local population to distribute to businesses which have been severely impacted by restrictions. Those likely to be in receipt of these grants include large employers with significant fixed costs such as seaside attractions or local manufacturers, as well as sole traders, tour operators and market traders who do not have a rateable value.

In total, £2.2 billion will be given to businesses across England to support jobs, livelihoods and local communities.

Businesses are urged to engage with their local authority and ensure that council officials have contact and payment information for them.

Council Covid19 Grant
Council Covid19 Grant

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