Coronavirus: £600m Small Business Grant Extension Announced
04 May 2020
On Saturday, the government announced over £600m of funding to top up the small business grant scheme.
While the grant had been one of the most popular coronavirus schemes accessed by small businesses via their local councils, the DMA and partners identified large numbers of organisations that were excluded due to the way the particular set-up of their organisation, even though it may be functionally the same as those businesses who were eligible for the grant. In some cases, businesses were largely virtual and did not qualify for business rate relief, or paid business rates to landlords rather than to councils.
As noted by the ministry for local government, to be eligible for the grant:
"Businesses must be small, under 50 employees, and they must also be able to demonstrate that they have seen a significant drop of income due to Coronavirus restriction measures. There will be three levels of grant payments. The maximum will be £25,000. There will also be grants of £10,000. local authorities will have discretion to make payments of any amount under £10,000. It will be for councils to adapt this approach to local circumstances."
Businesses should contact their local councils for details on how to access the grants, though there may be a delay of some days before more information on how the money will be distributed per-council is available.
