Support for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses that pay business rates

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced measures to support businesses that pay business rates. These are:

A business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England for the 2020 to 2021 tax year.
Businesses which received retail discount in the 2019 to 2020 tax year will be rebilled by their local authority as soon as possible.
Eligibility – your business is based in England and is in the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector
properties to benefit are defined as mainly being used as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues; for assembly and leisure as hotels, guest & boarding premises and; self-catering accommodation.
Accessing the scheme is automatic and will apply to your next council tax bill in April 2020. However, local authorities may have to reissue your bill automatically to exclude the business rate charge.

Cash grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses

The Retail and Hospitality Grant Scheme provides businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property.
Businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of under £15,000, they will receive a grant of £10,000.
Businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of between £15,001 and £51,000 will receive a grant of £25,000.
Eligibility – your business must be based in England and be within the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector
properties that will benefit from the relief are those used wholly or mainly as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues; for assembly and leisure as hotels, guest and boarding premises and; self-catering accommodation
Access to the scheme is automatic. Local authorities will write to you if your business is eligible for this grant. Further details are expected to be announced shortly.

The government is introducing a business rates holiday for nurseries in England for the 2020 to 2021 tax year. You are eligible is your business is based in England and include the following:
occupied by providers on Ofsted’s Early Years Register
wholly or mainly used for the provision of the Early Years Foundation Stage
Once again this is an automatic process and will apply to your next council tax bill in April 2020. However, local authorities may have to reissue your bill to exclude the business rate charge. They will do this as soon as possible.

The government will provide additional Small Business Grant Scheme funding for local authorities to support small businesses that already pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief (SBBR), rural rate relief (RRR) and tapered relief. This will provide a one-off grant of £10,000 to eligible businesses to help meet their ongoing business costs. For your business to be eligible, it must be based in England, already benefiting from SBBR and/or RRR, you are a business that occupies property.