£4.6billion in new lockdown grants to support businesses and protect jobs

Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will receive up to £9,000 in one-off grants to help them through the latest Covid-19 restrictions, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced today.
Mr Sunak has revealed new measures totalling £4.6billion to help struggling firms in the wake of yesterday’s lockdown announcement.
The latest support package also includes a £594million discretionary fund for other businesses that might be affected and comes in addition to £1.1billion in discretionary grant funding for local authorities, Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month and the extension of the furlough scheme.
Marches Local Enterprise Partnership chair Mandy Thorn said the support for the retail, hospitality and leisure sector was essential in light of the new national lockdown which will remain in place until at least February half-term.
The cash is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK.
The one-off top-ups will be granted 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
Mr Sunak said: “Today we’re announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the Spring. This will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen.
“A further £594million is also being made available for local authorities and the devolved administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions. Businesses should apply to their local authorities.”
Mrs Thorn said the extra help for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses was essential given the impact the new lockdown would have across the sector.
“I am pleased to see that the Chancellor has acted swiftly to offer extra grant support in these areas, because they have borne the full brunt of the last nine months of restrictions.
“With a new national lockdown now in place – and likely to last for some considerable time – it is vital that good, flourishing businesses are given the support they need to survive this pandemic so that they can help our economy recover when the restrictions can eventually be lifted.
“We await to see the full details of the package the Chancellor is proposing but are encouraged that it also includes a £594million discretionary fund for other businesses outside these sectors.
“There is no doubt that the next few weeks are going to be as challenging as any we have experienced so far in this pandemic, if not more so, and that the success of the vaccination programme is now of paramount importance.
“As the business-led body tasked by the Government with driving economic growth across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin we will continue to work with our partners in the private and public sectors to help deliver the support the Marches needs to rebuild and recover from the crisis.”
More information on support available to businesses can be found on the Marches Growth Hub website.