Chancellor announces £1billion in support for businesses most impacted by Omicron

On Tuesday 21 December, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that a support package of grants will be available for businesses who have been impacted by the Omicron variant.

Specifically Government has stated:

• Businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in England will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises, plus more than £100 million discretionary funding will be made available for local authorities to support other businesses
• Government will also cover the cost of Statutory Sick Pay for Covid-related absences for small and medium-sized employers across the UK
• £30 million further funding will be made available through the Culture Recovery Fund, enabling more cultural organisations in England to apply for support during the winter

The Government has also confirmed the following:

• Recipients of the Hospitality and Leisure grants must be solvent businesses, and ratepayers in the hospitality (defined as accommodation, food & beverage services) and leisure sector.
• Grants are per premises and the amount paid is varied by rateable value (RV) of each eligible premises, in three bands:

RV £0-15k = grant of £2,700

RV £15-51k = grant of £4,000

RV over £51k = grant of £6,000

Other than this, full details of the grant scheme have yet to be issued. Once full details of the funding have been issued to Local Authorities, Business Sheffield will be able to provide further information in respect to detailed eligibility criteria and the application process for both the Hospitality and Leisure Grants and the discretionary funding. This is not expected to be until after 4th January 2022

Councillor Terry Fox, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: "For almost two years it has been exceptionally hard for so many businesses in Sheffield who have been unable to operate as normal due to the pandemic, and we know that the recent news around the Omicron variant will feel like yet another set back.

"The Chancellor announced yesterday that a support package of grants will be available for businesses who have been most impacted by the Omicron variant.

"While the details of this support are yet to be clarified and we don’t think this will happen until the New Year, I want to reassure our business community that we will be working throughout the holidays to monitor the information available to us, any changes in restrictions or any new government announcements. As soon as we have further detail from Government which allows us to be clear on eligibility and application processes, we will ensure that businesses are able to access financial support as quickly as possible to help ease the burden of another difficult winter.

"We will be updating our business support webpage with any new information, so I encourage businesses to keep their eye on the www.sheffield.gov.uk/coronavirus-business for all the latest support available.”

Business Sheffield’s services are part of Sheffield City Council. For more information on what support is available and for the latest updates visit www.sheffield.gov.uk/coronavirus-business.

The full statement from the Government is available on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/1-billion-in-support-for-businesses-most-impacted-by-omicron-across-the-uk