East Cambridgeshire District Council has published details on three new government business grants which aim to help eligible businesses severely impacted by Tier 4 and current lockdown restrictions.

The three grant schemes are the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed), to cover the Tier 4 Restrictions from 26^th December 2020 to 4^th January 2021, the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) to cover the National Lockdown from 5^th January 2021 until 15^th February 2021 and the Closed Business Lockdown Payment, which is a one-off payment for the period 5^th January 2021 – 15^th February 2021.

The funding for all three grant schemes is only available to businesses with a business rates account that were required to close because of the formal publication of lockdown regulations under Public Health legislation. The funding is not available to businesses who have elected to close for other reasons.

Businesses required to close under national restrictions include all non-essential retail, indoor and outdoor leisure facilities, entertainment venues and personal care facilities. A more detailed list of the businesses required to close can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Businesses have been identified as eligible by East Cambridgeshire District Council’s ratings list and will now be contacted via email and post.

Councillor David Brown, Chairman of the Finance and Assets Committee, said:

“This is already a difficult time for businesses, so we have tried to make applying for these grants as simple as possible. We will be contacting eligible businesses with one form for all three grants minimising the amount of paperwork required.

“It is important for businesses to note that the eligibility for these grants is not the same as the first lockdown period and are only available for those who have been legally required to close. More information about the types of businesses required to close can be found on the Gov.uk website.”

To be eligible for this funding, a business must be in East Cambridgeshire and have been open as usual in the week before Government restrictions required them to close, either through tier-based restrictions or national restrictions.

For wet-led pubs, this is from 2^nd November 2020 and for all other businesses this is from 21st December 2020.

Businesses must have also been providing services in person to customers from the premises and must have been registered as the occupier for business rates on 26^th December 2020.

Businesses that set up ‘click and collect’ services and restaurants who provided a takeaway service are still able to claim grants as their substantive business was closed.

Those businesses that chose to close but were not required to and those that have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of EU State Aid permitted are not eligible for these grants.

Businesses that do not meet the criteria, but have still been severely impacted by Government COVID-19 restrictions will be considered as part of the Council’s discretionary scheme, which is currently being formulated. The Council appreciates the urgency required for business support and will release further information on this as soon as possible.

The grants that will be awarded to businesses are based on the rateable value of their premises on 26^th December 2020.

Businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or below will receive £476.43 for the ten days they were put into Tier 4 restrictions, £2,001 for the six weeks they were placed under national lockdown restrictions and £4,000 from the Closed Business Lockdown Payment, resulting in a total of £6,477.43 in Government support.

Businesses with a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive £714.29 for the ten days they were put into Tier 4 restrictions, £3,000 for the six weeks they were placed under national lockdown restrictions and £6,000 from the Closed Business Lockdown Payment, resulting in a total of £9,714.29 in Government support.

Businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 or above will receive £1,071.43 for the ten days they were put into Tier 4 restrictions, £4,500 for the six weeks they were placed under national lockdown restrictions and £9,000 from the Closed Business Lockdown Payment, resulting in a total of £14,571.43 in Government support.

These grants will be paid as one-off payments to cover the period from 26^th December 2020 to 15^th February 2021.

Eligible businesses will get one grant for each property liable for business rates.

Eligible ratepayers will be contacted by the Council. We will ask you to complete a declaration confirming that your business meets all the eligibility criteria and that by accepting these grants it will not exceed the relevant State Aid threshold.

Please read the eligibility criteria before completing the application form. The closing date for applications to be returned is 31^st March 2021.

If you experience any issues when completing the form, or require further help or advice, please email covid19businessgrants@eastcambs.gov.uk or telephone 01353 665555.

More information on business grants can be found on the East Cambridgeshire District Council website.