Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will ensure that local authorities are provided with sufficient funding to provide grants to all charities in receipt of charitable rate relief.

In response to Covid-19, the government announced there would be support for small businesses, and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, delivered through the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) and the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Grant Fund (RLHGF).

In addition to this, on 1 May, the government announced that up to £617 million is being made available to local authorities in England to allow them to provide discretionary grants. This additional fund is aimed at small businesses who were not eligible for the SBGF or the RLHGF; small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs but not liable for business rates or rates reliefs.

We are asking local authorities to prioritise the following types of businesses for grants from within this funding pot:

• Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief;
• Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible work spaces;
• Regular market traders; and
• Bed & Breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rates.

Local authorities are responsible for defining precise eligibility for this fund and may choose to make payments to other businesses based on local economic need, subject to those businesses meeting the specific eligibility criteria.

Guidance, intended to support local authorities in administering the Discretionary Grants Fund, was published 13 May. This will not replace existing guidance for the SBGF or the RHLGF. Guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding.