Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the eligibility criteria for (a) racing stables and (b) riding schools & Livery stables to access the covid-19 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant; and if he will make a statement.

Under the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF) businesses in England that would have been in receipt of the Expanded Retail Discount (which covers retail, hospitality and leisure) on 11 March 2020, with a rateable value of less than £51,000, will be eligible for cash grants of up to £25,000 per property.

Private stables are included in the guidance as an example of ineligible hereditaments. However, this is not intended to rule out all stables. If a stable is a genuine commercial enterprise and meets all the other criteria such as being eligible for rates relief under the expanded retail discount scheme, then they can qualify for a grant. It would be up to local authorities to decide whether the stable in question was for personal/private or commercial use.

Guidance intended to support local authorities in administering this fund was first published on 24 March and can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/881040/business_support_grants-local_authorities_guidance.pdf.

Guidance for Local Authorities on the Expanded Retail Discount Scheme can be found here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/877758/Expanded_Retail_Discount_Guidance_02.04.20.pdf.