Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will implement the Business Rates Relief Fund before Christmas 2021 to allow local authorities to help businesses impacted by omicron covid-19 as soon as possible.

The local authority guidance for the COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF), a £1.5 billion pot of funding for businesses that have not previously received support linked to COVID-19 and business rates, was published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) on 15 December 2021.

Businesses will be able to apply for schemes run by local authorities as soon as they have been set up. The Government will support local authorities to do this as quickly as possible, including through new burdens funding.

DLUHC ministers have written to local authorities to encourage them to provide CARF support to eligible businesses as soon as they can.