Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending eligibility for Business Support Grants to all small business, regardless of whether they operate in a commercial premises.

The Government recognises that the past few months have been very challenging for businesses in a wide variety of sectors. The various COVID-19 business grants have all been intended to support businesses facing high fixed property-related costs in some of the sectors hit hardest by the fall in consumer footfall caused by COVID-19, on the basis that businesses in this situation would find it particularly challenging to meet their high fixed property-related costs. This is why eligibility for both the original grant schemes and the new Local Restrictions Support Grant schemes is tied to the business rates system.

The Government has additionally allocated all local authorities in England £1.6 billion for the Additional Restrictions Grant, which local authorities can use to support businesses which are not eligible for the one-off or monthly grants for closed businesses, for example because they do not operate from commercial premises.