Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the discretionary grant fund allocated to local authorities to provide further assistance to small limited companies during the covid-19 outbreak.

The £1.1 billion of discretionary business support funding made available to all English local authorities through the Additional Restrictions Grant is only one part of the Government’s comprehensive support package for businesses and local authorities during this time.

The Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) will provide businesses in England which are legally required to close due to national or local restrictions with up to £3,000 per month of closures, depending on their rateable value.

In addition, through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open), local authorities which are subject to restrictions on socialising (in particular a ban on indoor household mixing) will receive additional funding so that they can make grants of up to £2,100 per month to hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses which are able to remain open but which are experiencing a severe reduction in demand due to these restrictions. Local authorities will also receive a 5% discretionary top up to their Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) allocation; local authorities have significant discretion over how they use this top up funding.

Business across the country should also be able to benefit from additional measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for businesses, such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended through to 31 March; the Self Employment Income Support Scheme, which will provide the self-employed with grants worth up to 80% of trading profits, covering November 2020 to January 2021; and the COVID-19 lending schemes.