Covid-19 support grants for businesses
The government are providing a number of new grants available to businesses impacted by local and national restrictions due to Covid-19. The different grants available, along with which business can claim, are listed below.
The government announced in the budget on 3 March 2021 updates on a range of existing support measures and introduced some new initiatives that will provide help for businesses dealing with the economic impact of the pandemic.
We are currently waiting for guidance from the government on these schemes and will update this page as soon as the details are confirmed.
Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding
An amount of funding has been made available by the government which can be used to fund a discretionary policy that supports businesses that do not have their own business rates account but still incur fixed business property related costs, as well as some other sectors impacted such as wholesale suppliers in the supply chain to the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors.
Our policy to implement ARG funding takes a common approach with other councils in the North East region and follows the government's eligibility criteria, which points to the businesses being required to occupy commercial space. Our approach is under constant review and we have extended the scheme to offer support to taxi drivers. On 2 March 2021 we have added support for registered childcare providers, childminders and driving instructors. We will contact anyone in these groups once we launch the scheme.
In most cases if you have previously applied for a Covid business support grant and are affected by the latest lockdown we will use the details you previously supplied to make a new grant payment, you don't need to reapply. New applications only need to be made for a Christmas support payment for bars and pubs or the Durham Business Recovery Grant.
See if your business is eligible
Read through the information below on the different business grants available to see if you're eligible (you may be eligible to claim more than one grant):
Apply for a Covid-19 business grant you only need to apply once unless you want to apply for a Christmas support payment for bars and pubs or the Durham Business Recovery Grant. These schemes require a specific application.
Before you apply, make sure you have your business rates account number. If you don't have a business rates account but think you're eligible for a grant, you need your national insurance number.
Businesses affected by national lockdown from 5 January 2021 to 31 March 2021
Also called Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed)
Businesses required to close
The government has set out which businesses should be closed and which ones can remain open during national lockdown. If your business is required to close its main service, in accordance with Government requirements, you are eligible to receive a grant through this scheme.
You may also be eligible for this grant if the main part of your business is closed but you have changed the nature of your business. For example you are now providing a 'click and collect' or takeaways rather than in-person service, such as a cafe, bar or restaurant.
If you are supplier to a business that's required to close and this has had a severe impact on your business, you may also be eligible.
If you have claimed support previously, we will contact you. You do not need to make a new claim for support. You only need to make a claim if you have not claimed any Covid support previously.
Payment amount
If your business is eligible you'll receive grant payments to cover the periods below:
Rateable value of your property | Total payment for period 5 January - 15 February (six weeks) | Total payment for period 16 February - 31 March (44 days) |
Less than £15,000 | £2,001 | £2,096 |
More than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £3,000 | £3,143 |
More than £51,000 | £4,500 | £4,714 |
If your business is not the registered occupier of a rated premises, for example you are in a shared space, but you've still been required to close as a result of the national lockdown, you can still apply for these grants if you meet the other eligibility criteria that applies. These discretionary grants will be funded through the Additional Restrictions Grant funding.
Businesses not covered by the scheme
If your businesses can remain open in line with government guidelines but you've chosen to close, you are not be eligible for this support.
If your business is not the registered occupier of a rated premises, for example you are in a shared space, but you've still been required to close as a result of the national lockdown, you can still apply for these grants if you meet the other eligibility criteria that applies. These discretionary grants will be funded through the Additional Restrictions Grant funding.
If you operate your business from home you're also not eligible (with the exception of registered Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) but not AirBnBs).
Service and Supply Chain Businesses
This scheme is aimed at businesses that have not been required to close, but as a result of the closure of businesses in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors, income has been significantly impacted. This includes food suppliers to restaurants, hotels, cafes or leisure venues. These discretionary grants are funded through the Additional Restrictions Grant funding.
Payment amount
If your business is eligible you'll receive grant payments to cover the periods below:
Rateable value of your property | Total payment for period 5 January - 15 February (six weeks) | Total payment for period 16 February - 31 March (44 days) |
Less than £15,000 | £1,400.70 | £1,467 |
More than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £2,100.00 | £2,200 |
More than £51,000 | £3,149.99 | £3,300 |
If your business is not the registered occupier of a rated premises, for example you are in a shared space, but you've still been required to close as a result of the national lockdown, you can still apply for these grants if you meet the other eligibility criteria that applies.
Closed Business Lockdown Payment
Businesses that are required to close from 5 January 2021 due to the introduction of national restrictions are eligible to an additional one-off payment.
Payment amount
If your business is eligible, you'll receive a one-off payment. See below the payment amounts:
Rateable value of your property | Total payment |
Less than £15,000 | £4,000 |
More than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £6,000 |
More than £51,000 | £9,000 |
The Durham Business Recovery Grant is a £5million fund to help County Durham businesses to recover from the effects of Covid-19. For full details and eligibility visit Apply for a Durham Business Recovery Grant.
County Durham moved into Tier 4 between 31 December and 4 January 2021. For this period businesses impacted by this will be entitled to a grant based on the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) scheme - similar to the scheme that applied during the national lockdown in November 2020.
Businesses covered by the scheme
The government has set out which businesses should be closed and which ones can remain open during tier 4 restrictions at Gov.uk: Closing certain businesses and venues in England.
If your business is required to close its main service, in accordance with Government requirements, you are eligible to receive a grant through this scheme.
You may also be eligible for this grant if the main part of your business is closed but you have changed the nature of your business. For example you are now providing 'click and collect' or takeaways rather than an in-person service.
If you are a supplier to a business that's required to close and this has had a severe impact on your business, you may also be eligible.
We will be contacting those businesses who will be eligible for any grants during week commencing 4 January.
Businesses not covered by the scheme
If your businesses can remain open in line with government guidelines but you've chosen to close, you are not be eligible for this support.
If you operate your business from your home you are not eligible for these grants (with the exception of registered Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) but not AirBnBs).
Payment amount
If your business is eligible, during this period you'll receive a single grant to cover each two week period your business is required to remain closed. See below the payment amounts:
Rateable value of your property | Total payment for the 5 day period |
Less than £15,000 | £238.21 |
More than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £357.14 |
More than £51,000 | £535.71 |
If your business is not the registered occupier of a rated premises, for example you are in a shared space, but you've still been required to close as a result of the national lockdown, you can still apply for these grants if you meet the other eligibility criteria that applies. These discretionary grants will be funded through the Additional Restrictions Grant funding.
This government scheme offered extra grants of £1,000 to pubs and bars severely impacted over the Christmas period due to temporary local restrictions. The Government scheme provided support to those pubs and bars that do not serve meals or where the turnover from meals is less than 50% of their income. The council agreed to enhance the scheme to provide support to all pubs and bars affected during this period.
The closing date for applications was 28 February 2021.
For businesses affected by local restrictions, there are grants available for businesses remaining closed and also businesses re-opening but severely impacted by the restrictions.
If you have claimed support previously, we will contact you. You do not need to make a new claim for support. You only need to make a claim if you have not claimed any Covid support previously.
Businesses remaining closed
While County Durham is in local restrictions, many hospitality businesses remain closed. If your business remains closed, you may be eligible for this grant.
Payment amount
If your business is eligible, during this period you'll receive a single grant to cover the four weeks. See below the payment amounts:
| Rateable value of your property | Total payment from 2 December to 30 December |
|---|---|
| Less than £15,000 | £1,334 |
| More than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £2,000 |
| More than £51,000 | £3,000 |
Businesses re-opening but severely impacted by the restrictions
If your businesses was able to re-open when county moved into Tier 3, but was severely impacted by the restrictions, you may still be eligible for support.
Payment amount
If your business is eligible, during this period you'll receive a single grant to cover the four weeks. See below the payment amounts:
| Rateable value of your property | Total payment from 2 December to 30 December |
|---|---|
| Less than £15,000 | £934 |
| More than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £1,400 |
| More than £51,000 | £2,100 |
Also called Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open)
If your business remained open but was severely impacted by the Tier 2 restrictions on socialising (between 18 September and 4 November) you may be entitled to claim support under this scheme.
Businesses covered by the scheme
This scheme is aimed at businesses that were open when these restrictions came in and specifically those within the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sectors which includes hotels, restaurants, cafe's, bars, sports and leisure venues, local community buildings and local charity shops.
This also includes supply chains to these businesses who have been severely impacted (for example, food suppliers to restaurants, hotels, cafes or leisure venues). These discretionary grants will be funded through the Additional Restrictions Grant funding.
Businesses not covered by the scheme
Businesses associated with personal care such as those in the Health and Beauty industry (including hairdressers and tattooists) are not eligible for this grant. Neither are any other general retail business or garden centres.
Payment amount
If you are covered by the scheme, you will receive the payment for the full period you were affected. The payment amount depends on the rateable value of the business premises occupied that was impacted by the restrictions on socialising as follows.
| Rateable value of your property | Total payment per week | Total payment for seven week period from 18 September to 04 November |
|---|---|---|
| Less than £15,000 | £233.50 | £1,634.50 |
| More than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £350 | £2,450 |
| More than £51,000 | £525 | £3675 |
Also called Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed)
Businesses covered by the scheme
The government has set out which businesses should be closed and which ones can remain open during national lockdown. If your business is required to close its main service, in accordance with Government requirements, you are eligible to receive a grant through this scheme.
You may also be eligible for this grant if the main part of your business is closed but you have changed the nature of your business. For example you are now providing a 'click and collect' or takeaways rather than in-person service, such as a cafe, bar or restaurant.
If you are supplier to a business that's required to close and this has had a severe impact on your business, you may also be eligible. These discretionary grants will be funded through the Additional Restrictions Grant funding.
Businesses not covered by the scheme
If your businesses can remain open in line with government guidelines but you've chosen to close, you are not be eligible for this support.
If you operate your business from home you're also not eligible (with the exception of registered Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) but not AirBnBs).
Payment amount
If your business is eligible, during this period you'll receive a single grant to cover the four weeks. See below the payment amounts:
| Rateable value of your property | Total payment for four week period |
|---|---|
| Less than £15,000 | £1,334 |
| More than £15,000 and less than £51,000 | £2,000 |
| More than £51,000 | £3,000 |
If your business is not the registered occupier of a rated premises, for example you are in a shared space, but you've still been required to close as a result of the national lockdown, you can still apply for these grants if you meet the other eligibility criteria that applies. These discretionary grants will be funded through the Additional Restrictions Grant funding.
Also called Local Restriction Support Grant (Sector)
If your business has not been allowed to re-open since March (for example nightclubs), you will be eligible to claim a grant of up to £3,000 for every four week period that it's closed. This starts from 1 November 2020 and it is not possible to backdate payments before this date.
Grants are taxed and subject to State Aid restrictions
All grants paid are taxable and subject to restrictions in terms of State Aid and you will be required to confirm that receipt of any grant would not contravene State Aid limits.
Business support programmes
For information about business support programmes available in County Durham, please see Business Durham: Covid recovery for businesses or see their Business Durham Covid-19 business support brochure. For tourism businesses, further information is available on Visit County Durham - Covid-19 advice.
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