Government coronavirus support and grants — how your business could benefit

Throughout the course of the pandemic, the Government has introduced unprecedented support for small businesses across the country. But with new schemes being introduced regularly, you may find yourself a little confused about which support you can benefit from. Here, we take a look at all the current coronavirus support and grants available, and how you can claim them.

It’s also worth noting that the Government also has an online tool to help you find coronavirus support and grants that your business may be eligible for. You can use their tool to check this here.

Government business loan schemes

To help businesses across the country manage the impact of the pandemic, the Government introduced a host of loan schemes with attractive features. While most loan schemes have now ended, one scheme still remains — the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS).

The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS)

The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) was launched on 6th April 2021 to support UK businesses with access to finance as they recover and grow from the pandemic. It can be used for business purposes, such as managing cashflow, investment and growth. 

It’s available to businesses that previously used the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).

The main benefit of the scheme is that personal guarantees aren’t required on loans under £250,000, however personal guarantees may be required over this amount.

Funding Circle is accredited to offer loans under the scheme, meaning customers that choose us can benefit from our quick and simple application process. Features of our offering include:

• Borrow £25,001 to £350,000
• Apply in just 10 minutes
• Get a decision in as little as an hour
• Funds are paid out in as little as 48 hours

To be eligible to receive a loan from Funding Circle under the scheme, you’ll need to meet the following requirements:

• Business has been impacted by coronavirus
• Minimum of 2 years’ trading history
• Business is trading in the UK
• Loan is for business purposes (i.e. working capital or investment, and to support trading in the UK)
• Annual turnover of up to £45 million

The Government provides a guarantee on loans under the scheme, however the guarantee is to the lender and not the business. Businesses remain 100% liable for the debt. It’s also worth noting that, unlike previous schemes, businesses are required to pay the loan interest from the outset, as well as any upfront fees.

Government grants

In addition to the Government business loan schemes that were put in place to help employers manage the impact of coronavirus, there are also some Government grants available to affected businesses. Provided you meet the eligibility criteria, you can apply for any grants that are applicable to you.

Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant

Following the Chancellor’s announcement on 21st December 2021, there are now further one-off grants to hospitality and leisure businesses in England that are facing difficulties due to the Omicron variant. As was the case with previous grants, these are based on the rateable value of the business premises:

• £2,700 if business property has a rateable value of £15,000 or under
• £4,000 where the rateable value is between £15,000 and £51,000
• £6,000 where the rateable value is over £51,000

Funds have also been extended to the Government’s of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in order to enhance their grant schemes.

Applications for the grant close on 28th February 2022. You can apply for the grant with your local council. To find yours, click here.

Culture Recovery Fund for theatres and museums

Theatres, museums and other cultural entities are able to apply to the Arts Council for additional funding from the Culture Recovery Fund. This fund has been allocated an additional £30 million in funding to help businesses in these industries manage the impact of the Omicron variant.

Applications are subject to a permission to apply request, and the last date for these requests is 12pm on 18th January 2022. Provided your permission to apply request is granted, you can then submit an application up to 4th February 2022, with decisions typically communicated within six weeks. 

You can find more information about this and how to apply here.

Coronavirus Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG)

The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) provides local councils with grant funding to support businesses that are severely impacted by coronavirus restrictions and the Omicron variant. It was first made available for the 2020-2021 financial year and is able to be used for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 financial years.

Your local council will determine your eligibility for the grant, but councils are have been encouraged to support:

• First ARG payment: businesses from all sectors that were severely impacted by restrictions but weren’t eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) and Closed Businesses Lockdown Payment (CBLP) grant schemes
• Second ARG payment: businesses from all sectors that were severely impacted by restrictions but weren’t eligible for the Restart Grant Scheme, as well as those sectors that remained closed or were impacted by extended restrictions, even if they’d already been in receipt of Restart Grants
• Third ARG payment: businesses that have been severely impacted by the Omicron variant

Businesses are unable to claim funding if:

• They’re in administration, insolvent or have been struck off the Companies House Register
• They’ve exceed the permitted subsidy allowance

To learn more about the permitted subsidy allowances, you can check the Government’s website, here. You can apply for this grant by visiting your local council’s website for more information. Find your local council’s website by clicking here.

Government job support schemes

Over the course of the pandemic, the Government introduced a variety of job support schemes to help prevent businesses from needing to make lay-offs due to decreased demand. These schemes all varied greatly in their level of support and area of focus.

Kickstart Scheme

Announced on 2nd September 2020, the Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new job placements for 16 to 24 year olds who are currently claiming Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment. Funding provided to employers on the scheme covers:

• 100% of the National Minimum Wage (or National Living Wage dependant on the age of the participant) for 25 hours of work a week, for a total of 6 months
• Any associated employer National Insurance contributions
• Any employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions

Applications to join the scheme closed on 17th December 2021. If you’ve already applied for the scheme, you should have signed and returned your grant agreement by 7th January 2022. You must now:

• Submit or send your vacancies to DWP by 31st January 2022
• Start the young person in the job on or before 31st March 2022

You’ll get funding for 6 months once the young person has started their job.

Business rates support

In a further bid to help businesses navigate the pandemic, there have also been measures introduced to provide a little relief through business rates reliefs and holidays. Many businesses can apply for this support.

Business rates relief

Businesses in certain industries have been able to apply for a retail rates discount. These include:

• Shops
• Restaurants, cafes, bars or pubs
• Cinemas or music venues
• Hospitality or leisure businesses, such as gyms, spas, casinos and hotels

Eligible businesses could be able to get:

• 100% off business rates bills for the 2020 to 2021 tax year (1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021
• 100% off business rates bill for the first 3 months of the 2021 to 2022 tax year (1st April 2021 to 30th June 2021)
• 66% off business rates bills for the rest of the 2021 to 2022 tax year (1st July 2021 to 31st March 2022) — up to a total value of £2 million

It’s worth noting that if your business was legally allowed to open during the national lockdown that started on 5th January 2021, your discount for 1st July 2021 to 31st March 2022 is capped at £105,000 rather than £2 million.

You’re able to claim the retail discount on top of any other business rates relief you’re eligible for. However, if you opt out of the retail discount for the 2021 to 2022 tax year, you can’t change your mind.

To find out if you’re eligible for business rates relief, you can contact your local council here.

Business rates holiday for tax year 2020-21

To aid the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, the Government temporarily cancelled business rates for businesses in retail, leisure and hospitality. This business rates holiday applied in England for the tax year 2020-21 for all the following businesses:

• Shops
• Restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs
• Cinemas and live music venues
• Assembly or leisure properties, like sports clubs, gyms and spas
• Hospitality properties, such as hotels, guest houses and self-catering accommodation

Businesses haven’t needed to apply to get a business rates holiday — if your business is in the affected industries, it should have been automatically applied to your April 2020 Council Tax bill.

Business rates holiday for nurseries

In addition to the industries listed above, nurseries in England have also received a business rates holiday of one year, for the tax year 2020-21.

For your business to have been eligible, your building needed to be occupied by providers on Ofsted’s Early Years Register, and completely or mainly used to provide Early Years Foundation Stage (which is care and education for children up to the age of five).

If you were eligible, your local council should have automatically applied this discount on your behalf.

Tax support

There’s also support in place for those struggling to pay their taxes due to the pandemic. Both corporations and the self-employed can benefit, and there’s also a helpline available for those who want to talk to an HMRC advisor if they’re facing difficulty paying their taxes this financial year — you can find more details on this further down.

Extension for Corporation Tax

If your business is registered with Companies House, you’re able to apply for a three-month extension to the deadline for filing your accounts. Businesses that use this extension won’t receive the usual late payment penalty.

You can apply using the fast-tracked application system. It should only take 15 minutes.

HMRC Time to Pay coronavirus helpline for tax

For more help with any outstanding tax bills, HMRC’s Time to Pay service has a coronavirus helpline to help businesses facing financial distress. 

You can call them on 0800 024 1222, but remember, there may be increased wait times to speak to an advisor. Decisions about extensions on your tax bill will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Sickness support

As many employees have had to take time off to quarantine if they show symptoms or have a positive test, the Government introduced measures to help businesses support their staff to do the right thing. While self-employed workers have not benefited from statutory sick pay support, they can apply for Universal Credit (UC) and/or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Refunds on statutory sick pay due to coronavirus

If you were a small business with less than 250 employees as of 28th February 2020, you were able to claim a full refund from the Government for 14 days of statutory sick pay per employee who was off sick with coronavirus.

You could only claim this if:

• You’d already paid your employee’s sick pay (you can use the SSP calculator to work out how much to pay)
• You’d claimed for an employee who was eligible for sick pay due to coronavirus
• You had a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started on or before 28th February 2020
• You had fewer than 250 employees on 28th February 2020 across all your PAYE payroll schemes 

While a doctor’s note for each employee wasn’t required, employees were only eligible if they:

• Had coronavirus symptoms
• Were self-isolating because someone they lived with had symptoms
• Were self-isolating because they’d been notified by the NHS or public health bodies that they’d come into contact with someone with coronavirus
• Had been advised by letter to shield because they’re clinally extremely vulnerable and at a very high risk of severe illness from coronavirus
• Had been notified by the NHS to self-isolate before surgery for up to 14 days

You could make more than one claim per employee, but you couldn’t claim for more than 2 weeks in total.

While claims for this scheme ended on 31st December 2021, the Government plans to reintroduce the scheme starting from mid-January 2022. We’ll update this once further guidance becomes available. For now, you can check out the Government’s website for more details on this here.

Benefits for self-employed workers during coronavirus

If you’re self-employed and aren’t eligible for Statutory Sick Pay, the Government has made it easier to claim for Universal Credit (UC) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

Universal Credit (UC)

You can submit a claim for Universal Credit and get advance payments upfront without needing to attend your local Jobscentre if your work has been reduced, or stopped, because of coronavirus.

Any payments will be based on your actual earnings, and you’ll be required to declare any self-employed earnings and expenses at the end of each monthly assessment period.

Find out if you’re eligible and learn how to claim Universal Credit here.

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

Employment and Support Allowance is designed for people with a disability or health condition that impacts how much they can work. Because of the pandemic, you may be able to apply for this if you can’t get Statutory Sick Pay if you or your child are ill or self-isolating.

Once you’ve been assessed, you’ll be placed into one of two groups. The amount you’ll receive will depend on whether you can get back into work. These two groups are as follows:

• Up to £74.35 a week if you’re able to get back into work
• Up to £113.55 a week if you’re unable to get back into work

You can find out if you’re eligible on the Government’s website and find out how to claim Employment and Support Allowance here.

Extended ban on business evictions

Commercial tenants who can’t pay their rent as a result of the pandemic are entitled to protection from eviction. The initial ban on evictions has been extended until March 2022.

Tenants and landlords are being encouraged to come to a voluntary arrangement on repayment. A new code of practice was introduced in June 2020, to help struggling businesses and landlords work together on rent repayment issues.

This protection from eviction only applies if you can’t pay your commercial rent right now due to the pandemic. It’s not a rent holiday and those commercial tenants that take advantage of this will still be liable for the rent.

Previous Government loan schemes that have now ended

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) 

• Was aimed at small and medium-sized businesses
• Offered loans from £50,001 to £5 million
• Government covered first 12 months of interest payments, as well as any upfront fees
• No personal guarantees were required on loans up to £250,000

The scheme closed for applications on 31st March 2021.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS)

• Was aimed at micro and small businesses
• Offered loans of £2,000 to £50,000
• Fixed rate of 2.5% per annum
• No repayments for the first 12 months of the loan
• Government covered the first 12 months’ interest

The scheme closed for applications on 31st March 2021.

Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)

• Was aimed at large businesses
• Offered loans up to a maximum of £200 million
• No personal guarantees were required for facilities under £250,000

The scheme closed for applications on 31st March 2021.

Coronavirus Future Fund

• Designed to help businesses that would normally require equity investment
• Provided convertible Government loans of £125,000 to £5 million
• Businesses needed to be UK-incorporated
• Businesses needed to have raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third-party investors in the past five years

The scheme closed for applications on 31st January 2021.

Previous Government grants that have now ended

Self-Employment Income Support Grant (SEISS)

• A series of grants to support those that were self-employed during the pandemic
• First grant closed for claims on 13th July 2020
• Second grant closed for claims on 19th October 2020
• Third grant closed for claims on 29th January 2021
• Fourth grant closed for claims on 29th January 2021
• Fifth grant closed for claims on 30th September 2021

These grants are no longer available.

Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) for businesses forced to close

• Grants were made available to businesses forced to close due to local restrictions or national lockdown
• Needed to be paying business rates on premises

This grant is no longer available.

Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) for businesses that can remain open

• Grants were made available to businesses who suffered reduced demand from local restrictions
• Were worth up to £2,100 each month that local restrictions applied and were retrospective
• Local authorities were given an extra 5% to distribute outside of the amounts listed above to those businesses that fell out of the business rates system

This grant is no longer available.

Grant top-ups for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses

• One-off top-up grants were offered to businesses within the retail, hospitality and leisure industries
• Provided on property-by-property basis to support those who had to close their businesses due to national restrictions in January 2021
• Were provided in addition to existing business support

These grants are no longer available.

Additional Restrictions Grant for businesses that won’t be covered by other grants

• Discretionary funding provided to businesses not covered by other grants
• Included businesses that supplied the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors
• Businesses in the events sector
• Businesses required to close but which didn’t pay businesses rates

These grants are no longer available.

Christmas Support Payment (CSP) for wet-led pubs 

• Support provided to pubs that predominantly served alcohol rather than food
• One-off payment of £1,000
• Only applied to pubs in tier 2 and tier 3 areas during December 2020

This grant is no longer available.

Restart Grant

• Supported businesses in reopening safely following the end of the national lockdown in January 2021
• Grants were made available from 1st April 2021
• Eligible businesses in non-essential retail received a one-off cash grant of up to £6,000
• Eligible businesses in hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym sectors received a one-off cash grant of up to £18,000

This grant closed for applications on 30th June 2021.

Previous Government job support that has now ended

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) / Furlough

• Government initiative to support staff and apprentices in the pandemic
• Paid 80% of an employee’s salary, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month
• Employers didn’t need to contribute to the hours an employee didn’t work
• Only required to pay employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and any pension contributions

The scheme ended on 30th September 2021.

Coronavirus Jobs Support Scheme (cancelled)

• Planned to replace the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Furlough)
• Would’ve been due to start 1st November 2020
• Would’ve been available for 6 months initially
• Employees would have received a minimum of 73% of their usual wages, whilst working fewer hours

This scheme was cancelled.

Job Retention Bonus (cancelled)

• Planned to help support jobs
• Would’ve seen employers receive a £1,000 one-off taxable payment for each eligible employee that was furloughed and kept continuously employed until 31st January 2021
• Payment was not required to be paid to the employee

This scheme was cancelled.

Previous Tax and VAT support that has ended

Income Tax and VAT deferrals for the self-employed

• Self-Assessment taxpayers were able to defer tax repayments beyond the original deferral date
• Anyone who needed to pay up to £30,000 in tax by 31st January 2021 was able to make that payment in instalments, delaying full payment until 31st January 2022
• Businesses needed to use HMRC’s Time to Pay service
• Businesses who originally chose to defer VAT payments between March and June 2020 were able to make interest-free payments over the course of the 2021-22 tax year, rather than paying in full by March 2021

These schemes are no longer available.

While we want to help as much as we can, the information found here is provided solely for informational purposes and should not be considered financial or legal advice. To the extent permitted by law, Funding Circle does not accept any liability for any loss or damage which may arise directly or indirectly from the use of, or reliance on, the information contained here. If you have any questions, please speak to your professional adviser or seek independent legal advice.

If you apply for a loan through Funding Circle, we will assess which loan product is right for you. If we can offer you a loan on similar or better terms without RLS, we will do so.