This is an additional 5% uplift to the £12.33 billion
funding previously announced for the Small Business
Grants Fund (SBGF) and the Retail, Hospitality and
Leisure Grants Fund (RHLGF), so up to £617 million. We
will confirm the exact amount for each local authority
next week.
This additional fund is aimed at small businesses with
ongoing fixed property-related costs. We are 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. But local
authorities may choose to make payments to other
businesses based on local economic need. The allocation
of funding will be at the discretion of local
authorities.
Businesses must be small, under 50 employees, and they
must also be able to demonstrate that they have seen a
significant drop of income due to Coronavirus
restriction measures.
There will be three levels of grant payments. The
maximum will be £25,000. There will also be grants of
£10,000. local authorities will have discretion to make
payments of any amount under £10,000. It will be for
councils to adapt this approach to local circumstances.
Further guidance for local authorities will be set out
shortly.
As of 27 April, over £7.5 billion has been paid out to
over 614,000 business properties via the SBGF and RHLGF
schemes. This is over 61% of the grant funding
allocated to local authorities.
