Businesses Urged To Apply For New Covid-19 Grants

Businesses eligible for the new Welsh Government Covid-19 support grants are being urged to apply as soon as possible.

In response to the recent national firebreak lockdown, the Welsh Government has introduced two non-repayable grants.

Grant 1

A grant of £5,000 is being made available for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses that have been forced to close (as defined by the regulations) and occupy properties with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £51,000.Applicants will need to be on the Non-Domestic Rate (NDR) rating list on 1st September, 2020, and will need to complete a simple registration form to receive the grant.

Properties that will benefit from the relief as being wholly or mainly used:

• as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues
• for assembly and leisure
• as hotels, guest and boarding premises and self-catering accommodation.

Grant 2

A grant of £1,000 is being made available to businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) in Wales occupying properties with a rateable value of up to £12,000.

Dependent on meeting the eligibility criteria, Grant 2 applicants that have been forced to close as a result of the national firebreak lockdown will also be eligible for a further top-up grant of £2,000.

Again, applicants will need to be on the NDR rating list for their local authority on 1st September, 2020, and will need to compete a simple application form to receive the grant. Businesses need to state that they are trading and generating a turnover to be eligible for this grant.

Not-for-profit organisations that meet the eligibility criteria for Grant 2 may apply for the grant including the enhanced top-ups if appropriate.

In relation to self-catering accommodation, properties will not be eligible for the grant unless the following criteria are met:

• the self-catering accommodation can produce two years of trading accounts directly preceding the current financial year of the business
• the self-catering accommodation must actually have been let for a period of 140 days or more in the financial year 2019-20
• the self-catering accommodation business must be the primary source of income for the owner (minimum threshold is 50 per cent).

As the overall discretion allowed by local authorities in the first scheme is no longer there, the Council will need to assess any applications from self-catering units against the strict criteria in the scheme and applicants should only apply if they meet all three.

In addition, for businesses not on the NDR list the Welsh Government has launched the Lockdown Discretionary Grant.

A discretionary grant of £1,500 is available to assist businesses that have:

• been forced to close (as defined by the regulations) as a result of the national firebreak lockdown
• or are able to demonstrate that the national firebreak lockdown will result in at least a 80 per cent reduction in their turnover for that period

Businesses are not eligible for this grant if:

• it is eligible for, or has received, the Lockdown NDR Grant from its local authority
• it has 50 or more employees
• the business generates less than 50 per cent of the applicants income. The business must be the main source of income.

Welsh Government has announced that the grants will be open to applications from 28^th October and will close at 5 pm on 20th November, 2020, or when the fund is fully committed.  All businesses are urged to apply as soon as possible.

Receipt of an application will be acknowledged within 10 working days and the Council aims to process grant finalised applications within 30 days of receipt. Please do not contact the Council to chase progress during this period.

For more information and to make an application from Wednesday (28^th October) go to: www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/business-advice-and-support

Pembrokeshire County Councillor Paul Miller, the Authority’s Cabinet Member for Economy, said: “I would encourage all eligible businesses to apply as soon as they can.

“ I have asked officers to consider all applications as sympathetically as possible and where we possibly can offer support, we will.”