Small Businesses: Coronavirus

(asked on 4th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to inform local authorities of the amount they will receive from the Government for Small Business Relief Grants, including business not in receipt of Small Business Rate Relief.


Answered by
Kemi Badenoch Portrait
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
This question was answered on 11th May 2020

The Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund are grants schemes funded by the Government and operated by Local Authorities to support small businesses during the Covid-19 crisis. Following a small cash advance in the final week of March, the Government transferred the remainder of the £12.3 billion allocated to the two business grants schemes to Local Authorities on 1 April. Of this £12.3 billion, £7.3 billion relates to the Small Business Grants Fund. As of 4 May, Local Authorities have made over £8.6 billion of Small Business Grants and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants to over 697,000 business properties.

Small businesses which have found themselves excluded from the SBGF and the RHLGF as a result of how they interact with the business rates system may be eligible for a discretionary grant from their Local Authority.

On 1 May the Government announced that it would be making up to £617m of additional funding available to Local Authorities to enable them to make discretionary payments of up to £25,000 to businesses in this situation. The additional funds are aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs, and we are particularly asking Local Authorities to prioritise businesses in shared spaces; regular market traders; small charity properties that would meet the criteria for Small Business Rates Relief; and bed and breakfasts that pay council tax rather than business rates. Local Authorities may choose to make payments to other businesses, according to local economic need. However, the priority of all the grants schemes continues to be to help the smallest businesses, and small businesses which are facing significant property-related costs and operate in sectors which have been particularly hard hit by the steep decline in customer footfall.

Small businesses which are not eligible for any of the business grants schemes should still be able to benefit from other elements of the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including:

  • An option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months;
  • The Bounce Back Loan scheme, which will ensure that small and micro businesses can quickly access loans of up to £50,000 which are 100% guaranteed by the Government;
  • The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit;
  • The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage bill;
  • The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-employed.
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