Business
Local Restrictions Support Grant (for closed businesses)
Applications for Local Restriction Support Grant (Closed) Addendum, for the period 16 February to 31 March 2021, have now closed.
The final payment will be made by 30 June.
The amounts of Local Restrictions Support Grant (for closed businesses), are as follows:
- Businesses occupying property on the local rating list with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under will receive a payment of £1,334
- Businesses occupying property on the local rating list with a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive a payment of £2,000
- Businesses occupying property on the local rating list with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above will receive a payment of £3,000
Currently, Local Restrictions Support Grant (for closed businesses) is available to businesses that were open as usual on 31 October 2020 (but have to by law close between 5 November and 2 December 2020) and were providing in-person services to customers. These businesses include, but are not restricted to:
- Non-essential retail, such as clothing and homeware stores, vehicle showrooms (other than for rental), betting shops, tailors, tobacco and vape shops, electronic goods and mobile phone shops, and market stalls selling non-essential goods. These venues can continue to be able to operate click-and-collect (where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises) and delivery services
- Hospitality venues such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs; with the exception of providing food and drink for click-and-collect, take-out, drive-through or delivery
- Accommodation such as hotels, hostels, guest houses and campsites. Except for specific circumstances, such as where these act as someone’s main residence, where they cannot return home, for homeless people, or where it is essential to stay there for work purposes
- Leisure and sports facilities such as leisure centres and gyms, swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, golf courses, fitness and dance studios, climbing walls, archery, driving, and shooting ranges
- Entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, amusement arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, go-karting venues, soft play centres and areas, circuses, funfairs, zoos and other animal attractions, water parks, theme parks. Indoor attractions at botanical gardens, heritage homes and landmarks must also close, though outdoor grounds of these premises can stay open
- Personal care facilities such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons. Tattoo parlours, spas, massage parlours, body and skin piercing services must also close. It is also prohibited to provide these services in other peoples’ homes
- Community centres and halls must close except for a limited number of exempt activities as set out below. Libraries can also remain open to provide access to IT and digital services – for example for people who do not have it at home – and for click-and-collect
A full list of businesses required to close can be found at:
Read the full Local Restrictions Support Grants (for closed businesses) policy:
Other businesses are permitted to stay open, following COVID-19 secure guidelines. This is for the purposes of providing essential goods or services. These businesses will not be eligible for a Local Restrictions Support Grant (for closed businesses). They include, but are not limited to:
- Essential retail such as food shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centres, hardware stores, building merchants and off-licences
- Petrol stations, car repair and MOT services, bicycle shops, and taxi and vehicle hire businesses
- Banks, building societies, post offices, loan providers and money transfer businesses
- Funeral directors
- Launderettes and dry cleaners
- Medical and dental services
- Vets and pet shops
- Agricultural supplies shops
- Storage and distribution facilities
- Car parks, public toilets and motorway service areas
- Outdoor playgrounds
Further to this, businesses where the following general conditions apply will not be eligible for an award:
- 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 (eg accountants, solicitors)
- Businesses that have chosen to close, but are not required to
- Businesses where the property is not shown in the local rating list
- Businesses that are in administration, are insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made
These businesses will not be eligible for a Local Restrictions Support Grant (for closed businesses) but they may be eligible for an Additional Restrictions Grant. This scheme is explained in the next section.
The amounts of Local Restrictions Support Grant (for closed businesses), are as follows:
- Businesses occupying property on the local rating list with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under will receive a payment of £1,334
- Businesses occupying property on the local rating list with a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive a payment of £2,000
- Businesses occupying property on the local rating list with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above will receive a payment of £3,000
The Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) will also apply for the period of LCAL 3 (Very High) (Tier 3) which came into force from 16 December. As a result of these restrictions certain businesses will be required to close; these include, but are not restricted to:
- Hospitality settings, such as bars (including shisha venues), pubs, cafes and restaurants are closed – they are permitted to continue sales by takeaway, click-and-collect, drive-through or delivery services.
- Accommodation such as hotels, B&Bs, campsites, and guest houses must close. There are several exemptions, such as for those who use these venues as their main residence, and those requiring the venues where it is reasonably necessary for work or education and training
- Indoor entertainment and tourist venues must close. This includes :indoor play centres and areas, including trampolining parks and soft play; casinos; bingo halls; bowling alleys; skating rinks; amusement arcades and adult gaming centres; laser quests and escape rooms; cinemas, theatres and concert halls; snooker halls
It should be noted that the following businesses are not required to close during Tier 3 restrictions:
- Retail businesses, including markets, except for non-self-contained shops that are based inside closed premises and cannot be accessed directly from the street
- Leisure and sports facilities; but group exercise classes (including fitness and dance) should not go ahead.
- Personal care and close contact services such as hairdressers and barbers, beauty salons, tattoo parlours, nail salons, spas and beauty services, saunas, steam rooms, massage parlours and tanning salons can remain open.
The Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) will also cover a small number of businesses required to close under Tier 2 restrictions which ran after 2 December. This will chiefly be pubs which do not serve food as a main meal eaten by persons seated at a table – so called “wet-led” pubs.
A full list of how different classes of businesses are treated under the Tier System can be found here:
Grant awards
2 December to 15 December (Tier 2)
This period applies only to wet-led pubs as they were the only businesses required by law to close under Tier 2.
| Number of days | Business rateable value | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 14 days | Rateable value of exactly £15,000 or less | £667 |
| 14 days | Rateable value of more than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £1,000 |
| 14 days | Rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above | £1,500 |
16 December to 19 December (Tier 3)
This period applies to all hospitality and accommodation businesses that were required to close under Tier 3.
| Number of days | Business rateable value | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 4 days | Rateable value of exactly £15,000 or less | £191 |
| 4 days | Rateable value of more than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £286 |
| 4 days | Rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above | £429 |
Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) (Addendum) (Tier 4)
Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) (Addendum) Tier 4 came into effect from 19 December (20 December in Epping Forest). Payments are made for each 14 day period on a pro-rata basis.
| Number of days | Business rateable value | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 14 days | Rateable value of exactly £15,000 or less | £667 |
| 14 days | Rateable value of more than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £1,000 |
| 14 days | Rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above | £1,500 |
Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) (Addendum) (5 January)
Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) (Addendum) 5 January came into effect on 5 January 2021.
| Number of days | Business rateable value | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 42 days | Rateable value of exactly £15,000 or less | £2,001 |
| 42 days | Rateable value of more than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £3,000 |
| 42 days | Rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above | £4,500 |
Properties required to close under Tiers 4 and 5
Tourism
Holiday accommodation, whether in a hotel, hostel, bed and breakfast accommodation, holiday apartment, home, cottage or bungalow, campsite, caravan park or boarding house, canal boat or any other vessel.
Entertainment and arts
Nightclubs, dance halls, discotheques, sexual entertainment venues, hostess bars. Any other venue which:
- Opens at night
- Has a dance floor or other space for dancing by members of the public (and for these purposes members of the venue in question are to be considered members of the public)
- Provides music, whether live or recorded, for dancing
Cinemas, theatres, concert halls, circuses, museums and galleries, visitor attractions at film studios.
Hospitality and catering
Restaurants, including restaurants and dining rooms in hotels or members’ clubs, cafes, including workplace canteens, but not including:
- Cafes or canteens at a hospital, care home, school, educational accommodation for students attending higher education courses or provider of post-16 education or training
- Canteens at criminal justice accommodation, immigration detention accommodation or an establishment intended for use by Her Majesty’s armed forces or for the purposes of the Department of the Secretary of State responsible for defence
- Cafes or canteens at a higher education provider, where there is no practical alternative for staff and students at that institution to obtain food or drink and alcohol is not served for consumption on the premises
- Workplace canteens, where there is no practical alternative for staff at that workplace to obtain food or drink and alcohol is not served for consumption on the premises
- Services providing food or drink to the homeless
Bars, including bars in hotels or members’ clubs, public houses and any business which provides, whether for payment or otherwise:
- A waterpipe to be used for the consumption of tobacco or any other substance on the premises
- A device to be used for the recreational inhalation of nicotine or any other substance on the premises
Conference centres and exhibition halls, so far as they are used to host conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, private dining events or banquets, other than conferences, trade shows or events which are attended only by employees of the person who owns or is responsible for running the conference centre or exhibition hall.
Recreation and leisure
Dance studios, fitness studios, gyms, sports courts, swimming pools, playgrounds, soft play centres or soft play areas, other indoor leisure centres or facilities, including indoor games, recreation and entertainment venues, casinos, bingo halls, bowling alleys, riding centres, amusement arcades, including adult gaming centres, skating rinks, water parks and aqua parks, theme parks, fairgrounds and funfairs, adventure parks and activities, aquariums and zoos, including safari parks, animal attractions at farms, wildlife centres and any other place where animals are exhibited to the public as an attraction, model villages.
Indoor attractions at visitor attractions such as:
- Sculpture parks
- Landmarks, including observation wheels or viewing platforms
- Botanical or other gardens, biomes or greenhouses
- Stately or historic homes, castles or other heritage sites
Outdoor sportsgrounds and facilities including:
- Outdoor gyms
- Sports courts
- Swimming pools
- Water sports
- Shooting and archery venues
- Golf courses
- Driving ranges
Retail
Businesses offering goods for sale or for hire in a shop or providing library services must cease to carry on that business or provide that service (with some exceptions), including kitchen, bathroom, tile and glazing showrooms, betting shops, showrooms and other premises, including outdoor areas, used for the sale or hire of caravans, boats or any vehicle which can be propelled by mechanical means, car washes (except for automatic car washes), auction houses (except for auctions of livestock or agricultural equipment), markets (except for livestock markets, stalls selling food and certain other exceptions), carpet stores, retail travel agents.
Beauty
Spas, tanning salons, nail salons, beauty salons, hair salons and barbers, massage parlours, tattoo and piercing parlours.