Last night, the Government published further guidance on the discretionary top-up grant for businesses with premises who missed out on the Small Business Grant.

The allocation will be discretionary and decided by each Council, so it’s worth keeping an eye on their website. For example, Liverpool City Council haven’t published their criteria yet. However, the key bits of the document are copied below.

How much funding will be provided to businesses?

Local authorities may disburse grants to the value of £25,000, £10,000 or any amount under £10,000. The value of the payment to be made to a business is at the discretion of the local authority

Who will benefit from these schemes?

These grants are primarily and predominantly aimed at:

• Businesses with relatively high ongoing fixed property-related costs
• Businesses which can demonstrate that they have suffered a significant fall in income due to the COVID-19 crisis
• Businesses which occupy property, or part of a property, with a rateable value or annual rent or annual mortgage payments below £51,000

We are asking local authorities to prioritise the following types of businesses for grants from within this funding pot:

• Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces. Examples could include units in industrial parks, science parks and incubators which do not have their own business rates assessment;
• Regular market traders with fixed building costs, such as rent, who do not have their own business rates assessment;
• Bed & Breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rates; and
• Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

Eligibility

This grant funding is for businesses that are not eligible for other support schemes. Businesses which have received cash grants from any central government COVID-related scheme are ineligible for funding from the Discretionary Grants Fund. Such grant schemes include but are not limited to:

• Self Employment Income Support Scheme
• Small Business Grant Fund
• Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant
• The Fisheries Response Fund
• Domestic Seafood Supply Scheme (DSSS).
• The Zoos Support Fund
• The Dairy Hardship Fund

Businesses who have applied for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are eligible to apply for this scheme.

Only businesses which were trading on 11 March 2020 are eligible for this scheme.

Companies that are in administration, are insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made are not eligible for funding under this scheme.

The full document can be read here

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Any questions?

If you’d like a meeting or a Skype call to discuss this, please get in touch with your favourite Liverpool accountant

• You can ring us on 0151 380 8080
• You can email us at growth@jondaviesaccountants.co.uk