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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what targeted, additional support they are making available to businesses in seaside towns during and beyond the lockdown.

The government has already invested £228m since 2012 in coastal towns, supporting 359 projects through the Coastal Communities Fund and a further £7.5 million though the Coastal Revival Fund.

In recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19, the government has announced a package of support for businesses to help with their ongoing business costs.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has been working across Government to provide £13 billion of grant funding to help small and rural businesses and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors manage their cashflow through this period. This support is in the form of two grant funding schemes, the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF). As of 10 May, these grants have been received by over 742,000 businesses and the performance of local authorities in disbursing funding is published on a weekly basis, including all local authorities covering coastal areas of England, this document can be found here at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses

In addition, on 1 May, the Business Secretary announced that up to £617 million is being made available to Local Authorities in England to allow them to provide discretionary grants. This is an additional 5% uplift to the £12.33 billion funding previously announced. The additional Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs but not liable for business rates or rates reliefs. Guidance, intended to support Local Authorities in administering the Discretionary Grants Fund, was published on 13 May. This does not replace existing guidance for the SBGF or the RHLGF.

Furthermore, High Streets Minister Simon Clarke announced on 24 May 2020 a new £50 million fund for councils to support their local high streets get safely back to business. To prepare for the reopening of non-essential retail when the scientific advice allows, the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund will help councils in England, including those with seaside towns, introduce a range of safety measures in a move to kick-start local economies, get people back to work and customers back to the shops. The announcement, including allocations, can be found (attached) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/50-million-boost-to-support-the-recovery-of-our-high-streets and the accompanying guidance at : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reopening-high-streets-safely-fund-guidance