We asked the Welsh Government a few questions in a bid to help provide some clarity to retailers during this time. A representative from the Business Division, Dept for Economy and Transport, Welsh Government responds.

Can you tell us why businesses above £51K were excluded from any support? Once again these businesses receive no help.

Businesses with a rateable value over £51k can access the Business Development Grants element of the Economic Resilience Fund (ERF) which remains a generous package, particularly for tourism and hospitality businesses when compared with equivalent grants for businesses subject to Tier 3 arrangements in England.

Is it only businesses forced to close that receive the grant? Would a hardware store that decided to close still qualify?

The Lockdown Business Fund will be delivered by local authorities to eligible businesses as follows:

  • Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses forced to close (as defined by the regulations) during the firebreak lockdown period occupying a property with a rateable value between £12,001 and £51,000 will be eligible for a £5,000 payment.
  • Every business occupying a property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less will be eligible for a £1,000 payment.
  • A discretionary enhanced £2,000 top-up grant will be made available on an application basis for those businesses with a rateable value of £12,000 or less who are forced to close/materially closed by the firebreak lockdown (as defined by the regulations).
  • A further discretionary enhanced £1,000 grant will be made available to businesses on the same basis where they are materially affected by local lockdown restrictions prior to the start of the firebreak lockdown period.

 

Any thoughts on business that have lost sales due to inability to sell non-essential items?

We recognise that not all businesses will benefit and from the grant support being provided and we have had to take tough decisions over eligibility.  The package has been designed to be affordable within the available funding.

 

Do businesses have to claim the grants or do they receive money automatically?

Businesses must be on the non-domestic rates (NDR) rating list for their local authority on 1 September 2020 and will need to complete a simple registration form to confirm their details to receive the £5k grant for retail, leisure & hospitality and the £1k grant for business occupying a property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less.  The top-up discretionary elements are by application.

 

When will we know about the discretionary process?

Further information will be published on the Business Wales website shortly.

  

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