Coronavirus Business Support Grants

Business grants update - 22nd January 2021

Harrow became subject to tier 3 arrangements from 16th December 2020 and tier 4 from 20th December 2020 prior to the national Lockdown commencing from 5th January 2021, with mandatory business closures applicable to each tier.

A single application form to apply for grants available for businesses that were forced to close under local and national restrictions for the period from mid-December onwards is now available on this web page.  A business entitled to a Local Restrictions Support Grant under the national lockdown arrangements effective from 5th January 2021, will also be eligible to receive a single lump sum payment as shown below. This will be paid together with any business grant entitlement for the period from mid-December to mid-February when the current national lockdown arrangements are next scheduled to be reviewed. 

It is proposed that the application process above will permit a single payment to be made to eligible businesses for the period mid-December 2020 to mid-February 2021 plus the closed Business Lockdown Payment shown in the table above, thereby reducing the ongoing applications requirement.  If an application is however not submitted, a business grant award will not be made for these periods or the one-off lump sum grant.

Please continue to check this page regularly for any further updates. Relevant policies in relation to the grants will also be available on our business rates relief page.

In relation to the existing business grant schemes, the current position is as follows:

• Applications received before Christmas for the business grant schemes running for the period 17th October 2020 to 1st December 2020 have now mainly been processed where there are no outstanding points of clarification.
• We are continuing to process grant applications received for the Tier 2 restrictions period between 2nd December and 16th December 2020.
• A discretionary local grant scheme known as the Additional Restrictions Grant was published on 11th January 2021 and details of this can be accessed via Additional Restrictions Grants
• Please ensure that if your business is required to close under national or local restrictions, that unless indicated otherwise, you complete the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) application form and that the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) application is completed if your business is legally able to remain open for the relevant period to which the scheme refers.

Confirmation of State aid received under the Covid-19 Temporary Framework for UK Authorities measure and Undertaking in Difficulty Status

Following the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the European Commission has approved schemes to aid businesses affected by the Coronavirus outbreak on the basis of their Temporary Framework, including the Covid-19 Temporary Framework measure for the UK.

The maximum level of aid that a company may receive under section 3.1 of the Temporary Framework is €800 000 (€120,000 per undertaking active in the fishery and aquaculture sector or €100,000 per undertaking active in the primary production of agricultural products).

This is across all UK measures under the terms of the European Commission’s Temporary Framework. For aid for uncovered fixed costs under Section 3.12 of the Temporary Framework, the maximum level of aid is €3 million.

The Euro equivalent of the Sterling aid amount is calculated using the Commission exchange rate applicable on the date the aid is offered.

Any aid provided under this measure will be relevant if you wish to apply, or have applied, for any other aid granted based on the European Commission’s Temporary Framework.

You will need to declare this amount to any other aid awarding body who requests information from you on how much aid you have received. You must retain this letter for four years after the conclusion of the UK’s transition from the EU and produce it on any request from the UK public authorities or the European Commission.

Aid may be granted to undertakings that were not in difficulty (within the meaning of Article 2(18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation 30) on 31 December 2019, but that faced difficulties or entered in difficulty thereafter as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

This aid is in addition to any aid that you may be have received under the De Minimis regulation allowing aid of up to €200,000 to any one organisation over a three fiscal year period (i.e. your current fiscal year and previous two fiscal years), and any other approved aid you have received under other State aid rules, such as aid granted under the General Block Exemption Regulation. Aid for uncovered fixed costs under Section 3.12 of the Temporary Framework shall not be cumulated with other aid for the same eligible costs.

Undertakings in Difficulty Assessment

Source: Section 2(18) General Block Exemption Regulations

(18) ‘undertaking in difficulty’ means an undertaking in respect of which at least one of the following circumstances occurs:

(a) In the case of a limited liability company (other than an SME that has been in existence for less than three years or, for the purposes of eligibility for risk finance aid, an SME within 7 years from its first commercial sale that qualifies for risk finance investments following due diligence by the selected financial intermediary), where more than half of its subscribed share capital has disappeared as a result of accumulated losses. This is the case when deduction of accumulated losses from reserves (and all other elements generally considered as part of the own funds of the company) leads to a negative cumulative amount that exceeds half of the subscribed share capital. For the purposes of this provision, ‘limited liability company’ refers in particular to the types of company mentioned in Annex I of Directive 2013/34/EU (1) and ‘share capital’ includes, where relevant, any share premium.

(b) In the case of a company where at least some members have unlimited liability for the debt of the company (other than an SME that has been in existence for less than three years or, for the purposes of eligibility for risk finance aid, an SME within 7 years  from its first commercial sale that qualifies for risk finance investments following due diligence by the selected financial intermediary), where more than half of its capital as shown in the company accounts has disappeared as a result of accumulated losses. For the purposes of this provision, ‘a company where at least some members have unlimited liability for the debt of the company’ refers in particular to the types of company mentioned in Annex II of Directive 2013/34/EU.

(c) Where the undertaking is subject to collective insolvency proceedings or fulfils the criteria under its domestic law for being placed in collective insolvency proceedings at the request of its creditors.

(d) Where the undertaking has received rescue aid and has not yet reimbursed the loan or terminated the guarantee or has received restructuring aid and is still subject to a restructuring plan.

(e) In the case of an undertaking that is not an SME, where, for the past two years:
(1) the undertaking's book debt to equity ratio has been greater than 7,5 and
(2) the undertaking's Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) interest coverage ratio has been below 1,0.

Further details on State Aid can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/state-aid