Here is everything you need to know.
One-off grants of up to £9,000 per property will be paid to businesses in the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors.
£594 million discretionary funds also made available to support other impacted businesses
Chancellor Rishi Sunak stated that the top-up grants would support businesses through the latest restrictions, expected to last until at least mid-February.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “Throughout the pandemic, we’ve taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods and today we’re announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the Spring.
This will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen.”
The grants, provided on a per-property basis, will range from £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of up to £15,000, to £9,000 for rateable values of over £51,000.
A further £594 million is also being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions. Businesses should apply to their Local Authorities.
The new funding comes in addition to billions of existing business support, including grants worth up to £3,000 for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses once they reopen. The government has also provided 100% business rates relief for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses, £1.1 bn existing discretionary funding for Local Authorities, the furlough scheme now extended to April, and 100% government-backed loans, extended until March.
The one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows:
£4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
£6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
£9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000
Any business which is legally required to close, and which cannot operate effectively remotely, is eligible for a grant
Business support is a devolved policy and therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations, which will receive additional funding as a result of these announcements in the usual manner:
The Scottish Government will receive £375 million
The Welsh Government will receive £227 million
The Northern Ireland Executive will receive £127 million
This will contribute to the funding which has already been guaranteed by the UK Government, to continue to provide the devolved administrations the certainty they need to plan for their COVID-19 response in the months ahead
Source: Gov.uk and HM Treasury
Comments