Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a further £1bn support package for businesses impacted by the new Omicron variant. As part of the support, businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in England will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises.
There will also be more than £100m “discretionary funding” made available for local authorities to support other businesses, and £683m targeted grants for hospitality and leisure businesses in England.
The additional measures will reinforce the existing package of business support, including: business rates relief; 12.5% reduced rate of VAT; the £1.5bn Covid Additional Relief Fund; business protection; access to finance and bounce back loan repayment flexibility.
Around 200,000 businesses will be eligible for business grants which will be administered by local authorities and will be available in the upcoming weeks.
The government said it will also cover the cost of Statutory Sick Pay for Covid-related absences for small and medium-sized employers across the UK, as well as issuing £30m further funding through the Culture Recovery Fund, enabling cultural organisations in England to apply for support during the winter.