£1500 every 3 weeks

Posted by jonathanfullarton - September 8, 2020 9:39 pm Local Lockdown discretionary grants

Government announces new local lockdown schemes providing up to £1,500 every three weeks for businesses closed due to local lockdowns

Businesses in England, that are required to shut as a result of a local interventions, can now claim up to £1,500 per property every three weeks.

The new scheme is designed to help protect jobs and provide businesses with additional support, if they are required to close because of local lockdowns.

Eligibility

To be eligible, businesses must have been required to close due to local Covid 19 restrictions.

How much support is available?

Larger businesses will receive £1,500 every three weeks they are required to close whilst smaller businesses will receive £1,000.

The government have advised that the criteria for the two levels of support, is as follows:

  • Businesses occupying premises with a rateable value less than £51,000, or, occupying a property/ part of a property subject to an annual rent or mortgage payment of less than £51,000,  will receive £1000
  • Businesses occupying premises with a rateable value of £51,000 or more, or, occupying a property/part of a property subject to an annual rent or mortgage payment of exactly £51,000 will receive £1500 Payments will be made for a 3-week lockdown period with every additional 3-week lockdown payment period triggering an additional payment.

However, according to the government’s press statement these discretionary payments may well vary.

“Payments made to businesses from this discretionary fund can be any amount up to £1500, and may be less than £1000 in some cases”.

quote taken from the government’s press statement

Local Authorities receive a top-up

In addition to this Local Authorities will also receive an additional 5% top-up amount of business support funding to enable them to support businesses affected by closure but which may not be on the business rates list. 

How to claim for this scheme

Local Authorities who will be running this discretionary scheme so if you need any more information please check your Local Authority’s website.

Quotes from government

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay said, “These grants provide businesses with a safety net as they temporarily close their doors to help save lives in their local areas. As local economies eventually and carefully re-open after local interventions, our Plan for Jobs is there waiting to help businesses get back on their feet, protect jobs and thrive in the future“.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma also said, “No business should be punished for doing the right thing, which is why today’s package will offer additional breathing space for businesses that have had to temporarily close to control the virus.  Through our wider Plan for Jobs, we will continue to back our innovators and job creators across the country who are playing a critical role as we build back better from the pandemic”.

Need more help

If you need more help with running your business through these challenging times please contact your local MFW office. We have been helping businesses to keep more of what they warn since the firm was established in 1936.