How to make sure your business doesn't lose out in lockdown

Money is still available via government schemes to help small companies cope with the latest Covid restrictions. David Prosser outlines what you can get, and how to get it.

Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak’s new programme is aimed at retail, hospitality and leisure businesses
(Image credit: © STEFAN ROUSSEAU/Getty Images)

For small businesses struggling to cope with the latest lockdown, new financial assistance from the government is limited. But help is still available from the schemes set up the first time around. Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s headline announcement last week was a new lockdown grant scheme aimed at retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. In England, this scheme, administered through local authorities, pays grants of up to £9,000 to companies in the sectors forced to close, with the exact amount depending on the rateable value of your business premises. There will be similar payments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Start with your local council

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David Prosser
Business Columnist

David Prosser is a regular MoneyWeek columnist, writing on small business and entrepreneurship, as well as pensions and other forms of tax-efficient savings and investments. David has been a financial journalist for almost 30 years, specialising initially in personal finance, and then in broader business coverage. He has worked for national newspaper groups including The Financial Times, The Guardian and Observer, Express Newspapers and, most recently, The Independent, where he served for more than three years as business editor.