The Prime Minister yesterday announced a new national lockdown for England, 4th January 2021, that is likely to apply until half-term February 2021. Similar restrictions are likely to apply in the other regions of the UK.
Today, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, stepped in and disclosed a raft of new financial support measures for businesses affected by the new lockdown regulations.
New grants for businesses required to close
Companies required to close in the retail, hospitality, and entertainment sectors will be eligible for a new one-off top-up grant based on their business property rateable value. The grants will be:
· £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
Please note, 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
Additional funding for other affected businesses
Businesses outside the retail, hospitality, and entertainment sectors may also be eligible for support from their local authority. The UK government is making a total of £594m available to local authorities for this purpose.
What will this mean for you?
In both cases, you will need to approach your local authority to secure funding. These additional grants will be a welcome addition to the other support measures previously announced and will help affected businesses cover some of their recurring costs until, hopefully, Government can relax lockdown as the vaccines start to control the rate of infection.
If you have any questions about these newly announced grants, contact us today via email at contactus@accountinggem.co.uk or call us on 01473 744 700 or to find out more.