Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when local authorities sent letters to businesses informing them how to apply for the Small Business Grants Fund, listed by each local authority; how many businesses eligible for that fund are in each local authority area; how many businesses responded to those letters with payment details by 17 April 2020; and how many businesses each local authority had paid a grant to by 21 April 2020.

Government has made £12.3 billion available under the Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund. The funding is being delivered by local authorities and Government is working closely with them to ensure grant payments are made to businesses as soon as possible, whilst safeguarding public funds. Local authorities are contacting businesses directly to deliver these grants. We have encouraged businesses who believe they are eligible for a grant to check the arrangements in their area on their local authority website if they have yet to be contacted, and to contact their local authority where relevant.

As of 20 April, over 480,000 business premises have received grants, totalling over £6 billion. Please see a full breakdown of grant funding allocated to and distributed by each local authority here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses