COVID-19 Support for Businesses

Who will receive these grants?

Businesses that are liable for business rates on 5 November 2020 and were open, as usual, immediately prior to this date, were providing in-person services to customers from their business premises, and were then required to close as a result of regulations made under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, may be eligible for this funding. A list of the businesses that are subject to restrictions can be found at Part 4 and the Schedule to these regulations.

 

Businesses not eligible for the grant

• Businesses that are able to continue to trade because they do not depend on providing direct in-person services from premises and can operate their services effectively remotely (e.g. accountants, solicitors).
• Businesses in areas outside the scope of the localised restrictions, as defined by Government, are also excluded.
• Businesses that have chosen to close but not been required to will not be eligible for this grant.
• Businesses which have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid-19 Temporary State Aid Framework.

   

  Level of grant available -

Rateable value of premises	Grant payment for 4 week period
Less than £15,001	£1334
£15,001 to £50,999	£2000
£51,000 or over	£3000

 

Rating List Changes:

Any changes to the rating list (rateable value or to the hereditament) after the first full day of localised restrictions and business closures regulations came into force including changes which have been backdated to this date, should be ignored for the purposes of eligibility. Local Authorities are not required to adjust, pay or recover grants where the rating list is subsequently amended retrospectively to the date that local restrictions began. In cases where it was factually clear to the Local Authority on the local restriction date that the rating list was inaccurate on that date, Local Authorities may withhold the grant and/or award the grant based on their view of who would have been entitled to the grant had the list been accurate. This is entirely at the discretion of the Local Authority and only intended to prevent manifest errors.

 

Can a business receive more than one grant?

Subject to State aid limits, businesses will be entitled to receive a grant for each eligible hereditament. So, some businesses may receive more than one grant where they have more than one eligible hereditament.

 

Tax

Grant income received by a business is taxable. The Local Restrictions Support Grant will need to be included as income in the tax return of the business.

Only businesses which make an overall profit once grant income is included will be subject to tax.

 

State Aid

The United Kingdom left the EU on 31 January 2020, nonetheless under the Withdrawal Agreement the State aid rules continue to apply during a transition period, subject to regulation by the EU Commission. The Local Authority must be satisfied that all State aid requirements have been fully met and complied with when making grant payments, including, where required, compliance with all relevant conditions of the EU State aid De-Minimis Regulation, the EU Commission Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak, the approved Covid-19 Temporary Framework for UK Authorities, and any relevant reporting requirements to the EU Commission.

Payments made can be provided under the existing De Minimis rules, to any one organisation over a three fiscal year period, provided doing so does not exceed the €200,000 threshold. Payments made where the De Minimis threshold has been reached should be paid under the Covid-19 Temporary Framework for UK Authorities (threshold €800,000).

The amended Temporary Framework enables EU Member States to give up to the nominal value of € 800,000 per company. This can be combined also with so-called de minimis aid (to bring the aid per company to up to €1 million) and with other specific types of aid. Any business that has reached the limits of payments permissible under the De Minimis and the UK Covid-19 Temporary State Aid Framework will not be able to receive further grant funding.

 

Application Process

To apply for this grant, please complete the online form below. Please note that you will need the following to complete the application from:

• Your Business Rates account reference number
• Evidence to show trading up to 4 November 2020

   

  Local Restrictions Support Grant application form

This grant is administered by the Economy team. For further information please visit their webpage here.

Please read this information to ensure your eligibility for this grant.

Who will receive this funding?

• There is no definitive description of a traditional pub or public house in law that could be readily used by Local Authorities to determine eligibility. However, for the purposes of this grant, pubs should under normal circumstances (without local or national restrictions) be described as:
  • Open to the general public
  • Allow free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided
  • Allow drinking without requiring food to be consumed and permit drinks to be purchased at a bar
  • For this purpose, the definition of a pub should exclude: restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, hotels, snack bars, guesthouses, boarding houses, sporting venues, music venues, festival sites, theatres, museums, exhibition halls, cinemas, concert halls and casinos
• For the purposes of this grant, a 'wet-led' pub is defined as a pub that derives less than 50% of its income from sales of food
• Where a grant is issued, the business that according to the billing authority’s records was the ratepayer in respect of the hereditament on 1 December 2020 is eligible to receive the grant. Where we have reason to believe that the information that they hold about the ratepayer is inaccurate we may withhold or recover the grant and take reasonable steps to identify the correct ratepayer.
• Businesses that are also in receipt of other Local Restrictions Support Grants – for example, LRSG (Closed) or Additional Restrictions Grant – can also receive this grant
• Businesses must have been trading on 30 November 2020 (the day before this scheme was announced) to be eligible to receive funding under this scheme. If you were temporarily closed during the national lockdown, it is accepted that you were still trading.

  Exclusions to Christmas Support Payment Funding:

• Pubs that derive over 50% of their income from food sales will not be eligible to receive funding through this grant scheme
• Businesses that have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State aid permitted under the de minimis, the Covid-19 Temporary State Aid Framework and all other UK schemes under the terms of the European Commission’s Temporary Framework will not be eligible to receive funding
• Businesses that are in administration, insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made, are not eligible for funding under this scheme

  How much can I receive?

• The grant is a flat rate of £1,000
• Some businesses may receive more than one grant where they have more than one eligible rated premises, individual applications need to be made for each premises.

  Tax

  Grant income received by a business is taxable. The Local Restrictions Support Grant will need to be included as income in the tax return of the business.

  Only businesses which make an overall profit once grant income is included will be subject to tax.

  Application Process

  To apply for this grant, please complete the online form below. Please note that you will need the following to complete the application from:

• Your Business Rates account reference number
• Accounting evidence to show that less than 50% of your sales income is from food

  Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs Application Form

  (If you do not have a 'Your Winchester' account, you can apply as a guest or register for an account).

Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) - (2 December - 25 December)

The Winchester district is in Tier 2 for the period 2 December - 25 December. The LRSG (Open) is a grant for Leisure and Hospitality businesses who have been severely impacted by Tier 2 restrictions. This is a discretionary scheme which we are still awaiting confirmation of the funding allocation from Government to this Council. More information on this grant will be published here as soon as it becomes available.

 

Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) - (2 December - 25 December)

If your business is required to close due to the local restrictions in Winchester, as imposed by Government, please contact businessrates@winchester.gov.uk for further information.

The amount available will be:

Rateable value of premises	Grant payment for 2 week period
Less than £15,001	£667
£15,001 to £50,999	£1000
£51,000 or over	£1500

Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) (Addendum) (LRSG CA)

Who will receive this grant?

Businesses that are liable for business rates and were open as usual prior to 25 December*, were providing in-person services to customers from their business premises, and were then required to close as a result of regulations made under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984.

*unless your business was required to close under the Government's local restrictions since 5 November.

Businesses not eligible for the grant

• Businesses that are able to continue to trade because they do not depend on providing direct in-person services from premises and can operate their services effectively remotely (e.g. accountants, solicitors).
• Businesses in areas outside the scope of the localised restrictions, as defined by Government, are also excluded.
• Businesses that have chosen to close, but not required to, will not be eligible for this grant.
• Businesses which have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid-19 Temporary State Aid Framework.

   

  How much will you receive?

Rateable Value	LRSG (Closed) (Addendum) (pro rata 10 days)
15,000 or less	£476.43
15,001-51,000	£714.29
51,001 or more	£1071.43

 

We have emailed those businesses we believe may be eligible and who received the LRSG (Closed) grant for the November Lockdown period. The email contains a link to a declaration which must be completed in order to receive payment of the grant. The link to the declaration also appears on the right hand side of this page.

Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) (Addendum 6 week period) (LRSG CA 6wk) and Closed Business Lockdown Payment (CBLP)

 

So far, we understand that the Closed Business Lockdown Payment will be in addition to the LRSG CA 6wk and you will be paid in one lump sum as follows:
 

Rateable Value	LRSG (Closed) (Addendum) (6 weeks)	Closed Business Lockdown Payment	Total
15,000 or less	£2,001	£4,000	£6,001
15,001-51,000	£3,000	£6,000	£9,000
51,001 or more	£4,500	£9,000	£13,500

We have emailed those businesses we believe may be eligible and who received the LRSG (Closed) grant for the November Lockdown period. The email contains a link to a declaration which must be completed in order to receive payment of the grant. The link to the declaration also appears on the right hand side of this page.