Grants now being paid out to those facing hardship due to Covid closure

With the country midway through the current month-long pandemic lockdown, the Local Restriction Grant Scheme has been up and running since November 5 for businesses required to close and were registered with business rates at that date. Grant payments have begun being made since Tuesday November 17 and applications will close on Friday December 4.

Businesses which are forced to close due to the non-essential business restrictions will receive up to £3,000 per month, depending on their rateable value. This is worth over £1bn a month across England, and will benefit over 600,000 businesses.

Businesses in the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors which suffered from reduced demand due to restrictions on socialising introduced between August 1 and 5 November, will receive up to £2,100 per month to cover the period during which they were subject to these restrictions.

Local Authorities in England will also receive a one-off £1.1 billion total payment which they can use to help a wide range of businesses that may be affected by the local and national restrictions, but that will not be covered by the other two grant amounts.

Further information on the eligibility criteria, a breakdown of the grant awards and a list of all documents required to support applications can be found on the BusinessNK website.

Applications to previous funds will not be considered, all eligible businesses are required to make new applications. If you think your business is eligible apply using the grant application form.

A further grant, the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) will be available for businesses that have been required to close but are not on the rating list or which have been severely impacted by lockdown.

Further information will follow in December. NKDC will share further updates via its Business NK website and dedicated Facebook group.

NKDC’s teams are on hand to help businesses, including their Business Adviser for those in need of assistance in understanding the restrictions.

They will share further information for businesses as it is made available, including any update on grant funding. Keep checking back to the BusinessNK website and @BusinessNK on Twitter.

They also send a dedicated e-newsletter for businesses with the latest information, news and support. Businesses can sign up on their stay connected webpage.

For more information visit the government’s business support page.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been extended and is available for all eligible firms across the UK.