Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund and Small Business Grants Fund

(asked on 1st May 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the eligibility cut-off date for the (a) Small Business Grants Fund and (b) Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund to 19 March 2020 to align with the cut-off date for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.


Answered by
Kemi Badenoch Portrait
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
This question was answered on 6th May 2020
The two business grants schemes were announced on 11 March and 17 March respectively. 11 March was chosen as the cut-off date to avoid creating an incentive for businesses to be created and registered simply for the purposes of being eligible for grants.

In cases where it was factually clear to the Local Authority on 11 March 2020 that the rating list was inaccurate on that date, Local Authorities may withhold or award the grant based on eligibility had the list been accurate. This discretion is only intended to prevent clear errors. Any decisions made after 11 March should not affect eligibility.

Reticulating Splines