Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has published updated guidance for local authorities on their ability to pay out business support grant funds to businesses whose rateable value was amended after the 11 March 2020.

The grant schemes applied to businesses who were trading, occupying premises and liable for business rates?on 11 March 2020. This was the first date that the Small Business Grants Fund was announced at Budget. This was to avoid businesses being established for the sole purpose of applying 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 had the discretion to withhold or award the grant based on eligibility had the list been accurate. This discretion was only intended to prevent clear errors.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to Local Authorities setting a closure date of Friday 28 August. We asked Local Authorities to close all schemes by this point and ensure that, where payments are still in process, they are complete by 30 September at the very latest.

Businesses which are not eligible for or have not received grant funding should be able to benefit from other measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business.?For further information please?visit:?https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder