What Is The Coronavirus Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund, And How Do I Apply?
The Discretionary Grant Fund is designed to support small and micro businesses that are not eligible for other government grant schemes. The grant is aimed at small businesses with high fixed building costs who can demonstrate a significant fall in income due to Covid-19.
If you are a small business with fixed property costs that is not eligible for the Small Business Grant Fund or the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund, you may be eligible for the Discretionary Grants Scheme.
In recognising that economic need will vary across the country, the Government has set some national criteria for the fund, whilst allowing local authorities to determine which cases to support within those criteria.
Who is the grant for?
For now, the government has asked local councils to give priority to the following;
- Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces. Examples include units in industrial parks, science parks and incubators, which do not have their own business rates assessment
- Regular market traders with fixed building costs, such as rent, who do not have their own business rates assessment
- Bed and Breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rates, and
- Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief with a rateable value below £15,000
Am I eligible?
Eligible businesses must demonstrate that they fall into all of the following categories:
- Have relatively high ongoing fixed property related costs
- Have suffered a significant fall in income due to Covid-19
- Meet the definition of a small or micro business as set out in the Companies Act 2006 and reproduced in paragraphs 21 and 22 of the government guidance.
- Are an eligible business which occupy property, or part of a property, with a rateable value, or annual rent, or annual mortgage payment below £51,000, and
- They were trading as at 11 March 2020
Businesses who have applied for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are eligible to apply for this scheme. Businesses who are eligible for the Self-Employed Income support scheme (SEISS) are eligible to apply for this scheme as well.
What will you need for your application?
Before starting your application you will need:
- Business name and address
- VAT registration number (if applicable)
- Company registration number (if applicable)
- Charity registration number (if applicable)
- Details of average monthly income and expenditure prior to COVID-19
- Details of average monthly income and expenditure post COVID19
- Copies of Business Account bank statements – April & May 2019 & April & May 2020 – alternatively a written ï¬Ânancial statement, prepared and signed by a qualiï¬Âed accountant, setting out the businesses actual and predicted income over the period 1st April 2020 to end May 2020 compared with the same period last year.
- Business bank sort code
- Business bank account number
- Business bank account name
Authors: Oliver Murphy & Sacha Bright
Disclaimer:
To the best of our knowledge, the information we have provided is correct at the time of publishing. SEIS and EIS tax benefits are dependent on your financial circumstances. Sacha Bright is not a solicitor or accountant and we recommend that you seek professional advice on any topic discussed.
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