Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support his Department provides to owners of shared office spaces which remain liable for business rates and are ineligible for other forms of Government support.

The Business Rates Relief has been directed towards the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors as these are properties that are wholly or mainly being used by visiting members of the public. However, shared office spaces owners who are ineligible for the Local Authority (LA) grant schemes may be eligible for the Discretionary Grant Scheme in England. This has made up to £617m of additional funding available to LAs to enable them to make payments of up to £25,000 to businesses. LAs have received guidance regarding which kinds of businesses should be considered a priority, which includes those in shared offices. LAs may also choose to pay grants to businesses according to local economic need, so long as businesses meet the following criteria:

• They face ongoing fixed building-related costs
• They can demonstrate that they have suffered a significant fall in income due to COVID-19
• They have fewer than 50 employees;
• They were trading on or before 11th March

Small businesses operating out of shared offices also continue to have access to a range of support measures including, but not limited to:

• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)
• The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
• The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBL) for small and micro enterprises
• VAT deferral for up to 12 months
• The Time To Pay scheme, through which businesses in financial distress, and with outstanding tax liabilities, can receive support with their tax affairs
• Protection for commercial leaseholders against automatic forfeiture for non-payment until June 30, 2020 – with an option for the Government to extend if needed.

The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible and how to apply -https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.