While England’s second national lockdown ended last week, the country’s return to tiered restrictions has left many businesses struggling to trade, particularly in the hospitality sector.
It is crucial that these businesses claim all the support to which they are entitled. In addition to the extension of UK-wide initiatives available to all businesses struggling during the pandemic, including the Job Retention Scheme and the two state-backed loan programmes, the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) offers additional help for English businesses in Tier-two and Tier-three areas.
Business rates are key
Administered by local authorities, this scheme pays cash grants based on the rateable value (used to determine business rates)of the properties that eligible businesses occupy, with different levels of award on offer depending on whether you’re open or closed.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
The first level of grant applies to firms that have been able to reopen since the lockdown, but are losing trade owing to the ongoing restrictions. This might include pubs required to serve alcohol only with meals, for example, and restaurants that can’t serve groups indoors other than people from the same household. Firms in this group and in a property with a rateable value below £15,000 may be entitled to up to £467 for each 14-day period their business is affected, rising to £700 for businesses with properties valued between £15,000 and £51,000, and to £1,050 above this threshold. Your local authority’s website should explain how to claim.
More generous awards are available to businesses forced to close under Tier-two or Tier-three restrictions, such as pubs that do not serve food. For these firms, the grants rise to £667, £1,000 and £1,500, according to the rateable value of their properties. The same help is also available to businesses that closed at the beginning of the first lockdown at the beginning of March and have never been allowed to reopen, although these grants are not retrospective past 1 November. Such businesses include nightclubs and adult-entertainment venues.
Since all the grants under the LRSG are based on the rateable value of businesses’ properties; firms that do not pay business rates miss out. But if you don’t pay rates, yet are still hampered by Tier three, your local authority may still be able to offer support under the Additional Restrictions Grant. Finally, make sure you have also applied for any support you are due for England’s second lockdown between 5 November and 2 December. Businesses that had to close were entitled to cash grants of up to £3,000, with the sum again calculated with reference to business rates.
-
Lloyds axes foreign currency fees for Club Lloyds customersClub Lloyds customers will be able to withdraw their money abroad without incurring any extra fees
-
How to invest during stagflationTrump’s tariffs look poised to push the global economy into a period of stagflation. We look at how to ensure your investments can survive a global slowdown.
-
Why are energy bills so expensive in the UK?Electricity bills in the UK are higher than in any comparable rich country. Some blame the net-zero zealotry of the government for that. What is really to blame for high energy bills?
-
Will Putin invade Europe? Why investors know Russia is a paper tigerOpinion Markets are right to ignore talk of Putin invading Europe, says Max King.
-
Why French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been banned from running for officeMarine Le Pen, presidential candidate and leader of France's right-wing National Rally party, has been barred from standing by the country's judges.
-
Five years on: what did Covid cost us?We’re still counting the costs of the global coronavirus pandemic – and governments’ responses. What did we learn?
-
Will Trump force the Fed to lower interest rates?Opinion Markets are ignoring the risk that Donald Trump forces the central bank into reckless interest rate cuts
-
London can lure Brexit-fleeing banks back to UK – but the City must move quicklyOpinion Many banks fled to Paris in the wake of Brexit but are now in full-scale retreat. The City should move quickly to lure them back, says Matthew Lynn
-
Protests erupt in Turkey after the arrest of president Erdogan's rivalTurkey's president has jailed his main political opponent, Ekrem Imamoglu
-
What is the Mar-a-Lago Accord and why is it getting attention from Wall Street?On Wall Street, there is talk that Trump's tariffs aim to make the world’s leaders come crawling to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence
