Borough and District Councils across Northamptonshire have
started the process of rolling out additional business rates support being
provided by Government during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Businesses are currently experiencing a range of significant
and unprecedented pressures due to the Coronavirus pandemic and in response the
Government has made available a number of financial and support packages to help
during these difficult times.
The best source of information to find out about all
packages on offer is through the Government
Business Support website.
Retail business rate discount has been increased to 100 per
cent for the 2020-21 financial year and now includes the leisure and
hospitality sector, and pre-school nurseries.
Businesses need to do nothing, as this will be automatically
applied and they will not be billed for next year’s amount. Businesses in the
retail, leisure and hospitality receiving a bill indicating how much they owe
next year can ignore this.
The Government has also announced grants made available. Each
Council will pay the retail, hospitality and leisure grants automatically where
possible but will write to businesses if further information is required. Additionally,
they are advised to keep an eye on their local authority’s website as details
might be published on there before your local authority manages to contact them.
One-off small business grants of £10,000 are now available for
businesses in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rates relief.
Cash grants for businesses in the retail, hospitality or
leisure sector have also been made available. Those with a property with a rolling
rateable value of:
- Up to £15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000
- Over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive a grant of
£25,000
Each local authority will pay the small business grant
automatically where possible but will contact businesses if further information
is required. More details on how to access the financial support and grants on
offer will be available on local district or borough council websites.
Northamptonshire business owners can also contact the South
East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) Growth Hub to speak to an
adviser directly about the Government’s business support measures.
The Growth Hub is funded by the Government and can help
directors to navigate the current COVID19 financial support measures and
official guidance, and can support businesses to work through options if they
are not eligible for the schemes. Advice and support includes assisting businesses
with their continuity planning and overall business resilience.
The free service can be reached
on email or on 0300 01234 35. More information on the support available for
business can be found on the SEMLEP’s Growth Hub website.
This briefing has
been issued in partnership with the Northamptonshire Local Resilience Forum.