Ministers have today announced new funding to support businesses impacted by Covid 19.

Businesses in England required to close due to local lockdowns or targeted restrictions will now be able to receive grants worth up to £1,500 every three weeks.

To be eligible for the grant, a business must have been required to close due to local Covid 19 restrictions. The largest businesses will receive £1,500 every three weeks they are required to close. Smaller businesses will receive £1,000. As with other Covid business grants, local grants to closed businesses will be treated as taxable income.

Payments are triggered by a national decision to close businesses in a high incidence area. Each payment will be made for a 3 week lockdown period. Each new 3 week lockdown period triggers an additional payment.

• If a business occupies a premises with a rateable value less than £51,000 or occupy a property or part of a property subject to an annual rent or mortgage payment of less than £51,000, it will receive £1,000
• If a business has a rateable value more than £51,000 or part of a property subject to an annual rent or mortgage payment of more than £51,000, it will receive £1,500

Local authorities will also receive an additional 5% top up amount of business support funding to enable them to help other businesses affected by closures which may not be on the business rates list. Payments made to businesses from this discretionary fund can be any amount up to £1,500, and may be less than £1,000 in some cases.

Local authorities will be responsible for distributing the grants to businesses in circumstances where they are closed due to local interventions.

Further eligibility criteria may be determined by Local Authorities.