Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether market traders will be able to make retrospective claims for earnings lost whilst they were ineligible for the coronavirus Small Business Grant Fund.

Market traders are eligible for a £10,000 grant from the Small Business Grant Fund if they occupied a business property that was in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief on 11^th March 2020.

In addition, market traders may also be eligible for a grant worth £10,000 or £25,000 from the Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Grant Fund, even if they were not in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief. They will be eligible if they have their own business rates assessment, if they occupy a property used for the sale of goods to visiting members of the public (or for other purposes listed in the published guidance on the expanded retail discount for business rates), and if their property has a rateable value of under £51,000.

For market traders without their own business rates assessment, the Discretionary Grants Fund, launched on 1^st May 2020, provided up to an additional £617m to allow Local Authorities to make grants to businesses in this situation (alongside other types of business).

Market traders may also be eligible to receive income support via a grant from the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, or be able to access support from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, depending on their personal circumstances.