Half of the city’s businesses severely affected by Covid have applied for a support payment. This includes restaurants, pubs and bars.
Grants are available for the November lockdown, the tier 2 December restrictions that followed, and further payments if restrictions continue.
Charities, social enterprises and community centres that operate commercially can also claim.
You don’t have to be closed to get the grants. For example, if a restaurant is normally your main business it doesn’t matter if you have been operating as a takeaway or online.
As well as the main grants, which are for businesses that pay business rates, we have two discretionary grant schemes for businesses which do not pay rates or do not have their own premises.
There is a 31 January 2021 deadline for making lockdown and Christmas support claims, so if you haven’t made a claim yet don’t delay. Applications take around 30 minutes through our online form.
How much can you get?
- Up to £8,000 for larger businesses for November and December
- Up to £1,500 for every 2 weeks the city is in tier 2 restrictions or moves up to 3 or 4
- Up to £2,000 discretionary grant
Christmas support payments
Pubs and bars can also claim a Christmas Support Payment, which is an extra £1,000.
To claim this payment businesses must have already submitted a claim for the main grants. You can then go back in the portal and hit the ‘wet pub application’ button to answer a small number of questions and make a separate application.
Find out if you can claim this payment
Government guidance states that the Christmas Support Payment is only payable to businesses who are liable for business rates.
How to claim a business grant
Go to our Covid support web page for details on how to apply. The guidance will help you complete the form and take you to the secure online portal.
More information
Further information about all the grants are on the businesses and employers web page.
We want as many businesses as possible to claim grants. We are making sure that, while fairly applying the government rules, we maximise the amounts we can pay and use our discretionary funds wisely. Our aim is to provide extra support wherever we can as the journey through lockdowns and restrictions continues.
