Chancellor Rishi Sunak last week announced additional funding to support cash grants for businesses in tier 2 lockdown areas.
Find out how much your business could be entitled to under tiered restrictions:
The additional funding is to allow Local Authorities (LAs) to support businesses which are not legally closed, but which are severely impacted by the restrictions on socialising. The funding LAs will receive will be based on the number of hospitality, hotel, B&B, and leisure businesses in their area.
Recent funding announcement – for Tier 2 businesses
- For properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under, grants of £934 per month
- For properties with a rateable value over £15,000 and below £51,000, grants of £1,400 per month
- For properties with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 and over, grants of £2,100 per month
- This is equivalent to 70% of the grant amounts given to legally closed businesses (worth up to £3,000/month).
The grants will also be retrospective, so businesses can backdate them to August if they’ve been operating in areas with enhanced restrictions since then.
Grants for Tier 3 closed businesses
Businesses in England which have been forced to close due to local lockdowns are also eligible for grants worth up to £3000 a month.
- 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 grants 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.
Businesses forced to shut under ‘very high’ tier 3 restrictions can also apply for financial support to cover staff wages. The Job Support Scheme will be open to eligible businesses in all alert levels.
Due to come into effect on November 1, the employer contribution to unworked hours is now 5%, and the minimum hour requirement is 20%, so those working just one day a week will be eligible. Employers will continue to receive the £1,000 Job Retention Bonus.
Support in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The Scottish government has made £40m available for employees and businesses in areas under local restrictions as part of its Covid-19 Restrictions Fund. It operates as a two-tiered scheme, with a smaller grant of £2,875 for businesses with a Rateable Value (RV) of up to and including £51,000 and a larger grant of £4,310 for those businesses with a RV of £51,001 and above.
In Wales, a new fund of up to £60m has been announced to help businesses affected by both local and the circuit-breaker lockdown. Each small business that qualifies will receive a £1,000 payment. Grants of £1,500 will be available to retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £51,000 that qualify.
In Northern Ireland, a support scheme will allow businesses to claim money for every week they are affected by tighter restrictions; from £800 for small firms to £1,600 per week for large firms.
We Are Here to Help
Due to the fast moving nature of the current Covid-19 pandemic, we are endeavouring to cover as much of the critical news as possible. If you run a business and need assistance and advice on how the recent announcements could make a difference to you or your business, feel free to contact us today. Our business growth experts are here to help you guide through these challenging times.
