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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on Tuesday, 5 January, announced “lockdown grants” to the tune of £4.6 billion in order to support the businesses and related jobs that will be affected by the newly imposed national lockdown.
Subsequent to the national lockdown in England, there is a certain threat to the businesses that are mostly dependent on the retail clientele. The government has taken “swift action” throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in order to protect the livelihoods, and the new cash injection has been announced to support the enterprises and related jobs until the Spring, Chancellor Sunak said.
Also Read: England and Scotland: What are the new lockdown rules?
Struggling Businesses
With the imposition of stricter restrictions across England in the third national lockdown, the government has made a sizable effort to strengthen the still-deprived state of businesses via the lockdown grants. The effectiveness of the lockdown grants can be ascertained more precisely in the near future, whether it is sufficient to cushion the day-to-day challenges faced by the businesses and the jobs dependent on the regular working of hospitality, leisure and retail sectors.
Lockdown grants: A 10-point guide
- The enterprises operating in retail, leisure and hospitality sectors have been recognised to receive a one-off grant from the government of up to £9,000.
- The aid from the government is expected to benefit more than 600,000 businesses across the widespread geography of the United Kingdom.
- According to the government, the one-off grant of up to £9,000 for a single property will help businesses through to the Spring season as the businesses affected by the national lockdown will remain closed until mid-February.
- Apart from the one-off grant of up to £9,000, the government has set aside a discretionary fund of £594 million to support other businesses that are likely to be impacted.
- Businesses that are not covered under the lockdown grants can apply to their respective Local Authorities and Devolved Administrations to access the special fund.
- The cash injection scheme includes grants equivalent of up to £2,100 per month for the affected businesses after they reopen and up to £3,000 for the businesses that have to shut their operations.
- In order to further minimise the cost of capital for the businesses, the 100 per cent government-backed loan arrangement has been extended until March and the Furlough Scheme has been further extended to April.
- The one-off grants that will be offered in a proportionate manner by the government according to the size of businesses.
- Accordingly, one-off grant equivalent to ‘£4,000’, ‘£6,000’ and ‘£9,000’, will be extended to enterprises with a rateable value of ‘£15,000 or less’, businesses with a rateable value between ‘£15,000 and £51,000’, and commercial setups with a rateable value of more than £51,000, respectively.
- The Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are entitled to receive additional funding to the tune of £375 million, £227 million and £127 million, respectively.
