Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish details of the process by which businesses can access grants to mitigate the effect of the covid-19 outbreak.

The Business Secretary will write to all Local Authorities by the end of the week with information on the small business grant scheme, and to encourage them to prepare to deliver this quickly. Detailed guidance for Local Authorities will follow by 1st April, and Local Authorities will then write to all eligible businesses with information on how to claim this grant.

We will give small businesses in the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors a higher grant of £25,000 per business if they have a property that has a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000. Properties in those sectors with a rateable value of £15,000 or less will receive a £10,000 grant even if they are not eligible for small business rates relief. It will be administered in the same way as the small business grant scheme.