The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak announced on the 21st December that additional support will be available for businesses who have been impacted by the Omicron variant. Recognising that the rise of the Omicron variant means some businesses are likely to struggle over the coming weeks, the government is providing one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises for businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in England.
At what is often their most profitable time of year, many pubs and restaurants have seen cancellations and reduced footfall as people have responded to the rise in cases ahead of Christmas and New Year, with Hospitality UK reporting that many businesses have lost 40-60% of their December trade, often their most profitable month.
Around 200,000 businesses will be eligible for business grants which will be administered by local authorities and will be available in the coming weeks.
- Businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in England will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises, plus more than £100 million discretionary funding will be made available for local authorities to support other businesses
- Government will also cover the cost of Statutory Sick Pay for Covid-related absences for small and medium-sized employers across the UK
- £30 million further funding will be made available through the Culture Recovery Fund, enabling more cultural organisations in England to apply for support during the winter
To support other businesses impacted by Omicron – such as those who supply the hospitality and leisure sectors – the government is also giving a more than £100 million boost to the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund for local authorities in England.
Local Authorities will have discretion to allocate this funding to businesses most in need. The ARG top up will be prioritised for those local authorities that have distributed the most of their existing allocation. This is on top of the £250 million of previously allocated funding that remains with local authorities.
As increasing numbers of Covid-19 cases means more workers taking time off work, the government is also reintroducing the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS).
The SSPRS will help small and medium-sized employers – those with fewer than 250 employees – by reimbursing them for the cost of Statutory Sick Pay for Covid-related absences, for up to 2 weeks per employee. Firms will be eligible for the scheme from today and they will be able to make claims retrospectively from mid-January.
To provide continued support to the cultural sector, £30 million further funding will be made available through the Culture Recovery Fund to support organisations such as theatres, orchestras and museums through the winter to March 2022.
This figure will build on nearly £240 million of cultural grant support already allocated this financial year or currently available for organisations to bid for.
Reference: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/1-billion-in-support-for-businesses-…
The Role of Cheshire East Council
In addition, for businesses that have been impacted by Covid-19, Cheshire East Council still has monies in the Business Interruption Fund which is remains open for applications.
The Business Interruption Fund is to support businesses that can demonstrate they have continued to be impacted by the pandemic.
Last week the council announced it had already increased the amount of support available through this fund to a maximum of £10,000 per business. It means that those who previously applied for funding and received the maximum amount available at that time of £5,000, can now submit a further application for support.
The current grants policy and package of support for businesses can be found on the council’s business support webpage.
Business rates customers can also find support on the council’s help for business rates customers webpage.
With regard to the Additional Restrictions Grant Allocation, the council is currently waiting for detailed guidance from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The guidance will be reviewed and the Council will make any amendments to the council’s Grant Policy, as necessary.
Reference: https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_informati…