Tier Two – Local Restriction Support Grants
On Thursday 22nd October the Chancellor announced that grants of up to £2,100 per month will be made available to businesses which aren’t legally required to close but have or will be adversely affected by local restrictions in place for 'tier two' areas in England.
- The funds will be administered by local authorities, and it is likely businesses will need to apply to their local authority to get one
- The grants will initially run until April. However, there will be a "review point" in January
- Businesses that have already been subject to restrictions - those who are in an area that has moved into tier three can apply retrospectively
- These grants are in addition to higher levels of additional business support given to local authorities moving into tier three and also the local lockdown grants worth up to £3,000 per month that are available to businesses that are forced to close
- The grants are only available in England
How much can I get?
- Businesses on premises that pay annual rent or mortgage payments of exactly £51,000 or more can claim £1,500 for every three-week period they are ordered to close
- Businesses on premises that pay annual rent or mortgage payments of less than £51,000 can claim £1,000 for every three-week period they are ordered to close
- Each payment will be made for a three-week lockdown period. Each new three-week lockdown period triggers an additional payment
How do I get the payment?
- The grants will be administered by local authorities. As soon as it is confirmed that your business will need to close for at least three weeks, you need to contact your local authority
- It is up to individual local authorities to make payments as quickly as possible
- You can't claim for single weeks, i.e. £500 for one week. It is either for a full three-week period or none
- The grants are "per property". This means that if you have a business with more than one premise, such as a restaurant with two branches that are both forced to close, you will receive two grants
- Further eligibility criteria may be determined by local authorities
- As with other Covid-19 business grants, the grants will be treated as taxable income
Tier Three – Local Restriction Support Grants
Businesses forced to close due to local lockdowns are able to receive a cash grant of up to £3,000 per month.
The amount your business will receive under this scheme extension depends on the ‘rateable value' of your business property on the first full day of lockdown restrictions.
If your business is eligible and has a property with a rateable value of £51,000 or above, you will receive a cash grant of £1,500 for each 3-week period your business is closed.
If your rateable value is less than £51,000, you will receive a cash grant of £1,000 for each 3-week period your business is closed.
The grant will be extended to cover each additional 3-week period. For example, if your business is closed for 6 weeks, it will receive £2,000 or £3,000 depending on the rateable value of the property.
Your business may be eligible if it:
- occupies property on which it pays business rates
- is in a local lockdown area and has been required to close because of the formal publication of local restrictions guidance that resulted in a first full day of closure on or after 9 September. This funding is not retrospective
- has been required to close for at least 3 weeks because of the lockdown
- has been unable to provide its usual in-person customer service from its premises. This could include non-essential retail, personal services or cafes/restaurants
- operates primarily as an in-person venue, but has been forced to close those services and provide a takeaway-only service instead
Eligible businesses will receive one grant for each property liable for business rates within the lockdown zone.
Businesses that are required to close but do not pay business rates may be eligible for funding at the discretion of the local council, as well as businesses not required to close but that are severely impacted.
Discretionary funding
You may receive a grant of up to £1,500 at the discretion of your local council if:
- your business is required to close but you do not pay business rates
- if your business is not required to close, but has been severely affected, for example as a result of customer businesses being closed
Your local council will publish details of discretionary funding on their website.
Exclusions
The following exclusions apply:
- businesses that are able to continue to operate during the lockdown because they do not depend on providing direct in-person services from their premises
- businesses that have chosen to close, but have not been required to close as part of a local lockdown
- businesses that are still subject to national closures such as nightclubs
- businesses that have reached the state aid limit
