Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced new lockdown grants to support businesses and protect jobs in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.
One-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property will be paid to help businesses through to the Spring. There will also be a £594 million discretionary fund made available to support other businesses impacted by the restrictions.
The grants will be in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities, Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month and the extension of the furlough scheme.
This follows the Prime Minister’s announcement last night of a new lockdown, effective immediately (although not enforceable in law until tomorrow), meaning that these business will be closed until at least February half-term.
The cash grants will be provided on a per-property basis to closed businesses as follows:
- £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
- £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
- £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000
The full announcement is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/46-billion-in-new-lockdown-grants-to-support-businesses-and-protect-jobs
The full transcript of the Prime Minister’s announcement last night can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-address-to-the-nation-4-january-2021
