Additional restrictions grant

On 21 December 2021 the Government announced a new business grant fund available in the coming weeks to support businesses in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors who pay business rates as the UK tackles rising cases of the Omicron variant.

In addition the Government announced a funding boost to the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund to support other businesses impacted by Omicron, such as businesses who supply the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors. Local Authorities will have discretion to allocate the ARG funding to businesses most in need in their local areas. You can read more about this by visiting Hackney Business Network.

The Government has confirmed that new applications are required from businesses to access the grants and we will be announcing further details as soon as we can. You can receive the latest updates by signing up to the Hackney Business Network newsletter.

Using Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding that the Council received from the Government, £360,000 has been made available for the Hackney Central Impact and Ideas Fund. The fund is designed to support local businesses and organisations play a fuller role in shaping Hackney Central, while supporting them through Covid-19. The fund forms part of the Council’s work on the new Hackney Central plan, enabling businesses to invest in and realise their own ideas to increase their economic and environmental resilience, as well as improving the town centre as a whole. Micro and small businesses can apply to the fund to deliver projects in Hackney Central between April 2022 and December 2022. Businesses can apply for two different types of grants:

• Ideas grants for projects up to £5,000: Ideas grants are for smaller projects that support the development of new ideas or to test/trial new approaches and help get exciting ideas off the ground.
• Impact grants for projects up to £50,000: Impact grants are for larger-scale projects that aim to make a big impact. While all applications need to demonstrate how their project will deliver against one or more of the Hackney Central Missions, we expect that impact grants will align with more than one mission.

Applications open on Tuesday 18 January 2022 and close on Monday 14 February 2022 at 9am. 

You can sign up to attend an information session about the fund here.

For more information about the fund, including who is eligible and what you can apply for, read the funding guidance.

You can apply for this funding if your business meets all of the criteria:

• Your business/organisation is based in and trading in Hackney (including home based businesses and permanent market traders). 
• The impact of the project or the address of the businesses benefiting must be within the Hackney Central area (as defined by the Hackney Central plan). Example: an arts organisation based elsewhere in the borough could apply for funding to run an arts festival in Hackney Central.
• Your business/organisation is a micro or small sized, defined for the purposes of this funding as having:
  • 49 or less employees 
• Is a registered organisation, for example:
• • • Registered company (Private Company, Limited Company, Social Enterprise, Community Interest Company) with a registration number on Companies House.
    • Sole trader with a self assessment number
    • Registered charity with a registration number on the Charity Commission..Your proposed project will be in Hackney Central or will benefit businesses based in Hackney Central. The Hackney Central area has been defined by the Hackney Central plan and is outlined in the map.

Please email PRD Help with any questions you may have. While we will endeavour to respond to all enquiries promptly, all questions will be compiled and released for public view on 26 February ahead of an information session on 27 February 2022. If you have any questions regarding the process of application (logging on, uploading documents etc) please send these to the same email address and these will be answered immediately. You can sign up to attend the information session here.

Can I apply for both an Impact and Ideas Grant?

While you shouldn’t apply to the two grant streams for the same project and expenses, you can submit multiple applications for different projects.

What is the geographical remit of this Fund?

Anyone based in or trading in the London Borough of Hackney can apply, but the impact of the project or the address of the businesses benefiting must be within the Hackney Central area (as defined by the Hackney Central plan). Example: an arts organisation based elsewhere in the borough could apply for funding to run an arts festival in Hackney Central.

Where has this funding come from?

This funding forms part of the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) payment the Council received from the Government to support business as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

What other funds do you have available for businesses and which one should I apply for?

The Council has other business support schemes in 2021/22 using ARG funding:

• The High Streets and Town Centres fund: to support businesses on the high street to deliver projects that increase footfall, activate spaces, and drive business and customer engagement in these areas that have often been seriously impacted by Covid-19. While the grant scheme is now closed, the below information in 8.5 still applies.
• The Adapt Your Business Service: to provide expert and bespoke business support and advice to small businesses looking to make adaptations. This might be to help them get through Covid-19 or to recover better. Grants of up to £25,000 will be offered to businesses who have a specific project that would help them to achieve this.
• The  Omicron Additional Restrictions Grant Fund, for one off Covid-19 payments that eligible businesses within sectors impacted by Omicron. 
• Each fund has its own set of funding objectives and eligibility criteria, this is to encourage specific projects that may have a lasting impact on businesses, as opposed to one off emergency payments previously made for Covid-19.
• You should read the funding objectives of each fund to understand which might be most suitable for your business and the project you have in mind.

Can I apply for more than one of the funds?

If you meet the criteria for each fund you can apply to all three, however you shouldn’t apply to multiple funds for the same project and expenses. If you apply for duplicate projects or expenses across the fund, we will ask you to withdraw the application/s.

Can I apply for this funding if my business has previously received a Covid-19 Grant from the Council (Additional Restrictions Grant or LSRG)?

Yes 

Are grants subject to tax?

Grant income received by a business is taxable, therefore this grant will be subject to tax. Only businesses that make an overall profit once grant income is included will be subject to tax.

What is an undertaking in difficulty?

You cannot apply for the fund if you are undertaking an undertaking in difficulty. A business is generally an undertaking in difficulty when it meets the criteria for insolvency under the Insolvency Act 1986. Please read the definition of an undertaking in difficulty before you apply. 

Micro and small businesses in Hackney will be able to access 7 hours of business advice with an expert. This might be through bespoke 1-2-1 support and advice provided by experienced business advisers to discuss your individual business needs, or via a number of masterclasses and networking events.

The programme will also enable eligible businesses to apply to receive a grant of up to £25,000 to help make adaptations come to life.

To learn more about the programme and apply for funding, please visit the Hackney Adapt Your Business Programme website.

Using Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding that the Council received from the Government, £500,000 has been made available for eligible businesses to deliver projects and initiatives that increase resident and business engagement in high streets, encourage spending in local shops and businesses and bolster the recovery and resilience of our high streets and town centres. Businesses  can apply individually for up to £10,000, or in partnership with other businesses or other high street partners (e.g. local community groups, charities, voluntary and community sector organisations) for up to £50,000 for projects that will be delivered between April 2022 to December 2022.

This grant scheme is for micro and small businesses in Hackney that were legally required to close between 5 November and 2 December 2020 (but are not business rate account holders) and for those businesses that were not legally required to close but have been severely impacted by the restrictions put in place to control the spread of Covid-19.

If your business was legally required to close during the national lockdown period between 5 November and 2 December and you are a business rates account holder you should apply for a Local Restrictions Grant (Open) Addendum grant and not this grant.

Eligible businesses

The additional restrictions grant is a discretionary scheme. In order to qualify for the fund you must meet the following criteria:

• your business was legally required to close during the lockdown period between 5 November – 2 December 2020 but you are not a business rate account holder; or
• your business was not legally required to close between 5 November – 2 December 2020 but has been severely impacted by the restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19

For those businesses in the second category we encourage and will prioritise applications from businesses who supply the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, businesses in the events sector, market traders (who are registered market traders with the London Borough of Hackney), and Ofsted registered nurseries and childminders.

Who can apply

To apply your business must meet all of the following criteria:

• your business is based in the London Borough of Hackney operating from a commercial or domestic premises* or a London Borough of Hackney market trading pitch
  • *if your business is operating from a domestic premises then you will be asked to confirm in the application form that this was your usual mode of operating prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you are working from home as a result of Covid-19 but your business would normally operate from a commercial premises, then please provide your commercial premises address in Hackney on your application form
• your business is a micro or small business as defined in the Companies Act 2006 (ie your business must have at least two of the following; not more than 50 employees, a turnover of not more than £10.2 million and a balance sheet total of not more than £5.1m)
• your business must have been trading on the 4 November 2020, the day before the national lockdown came into effect
• your business is not in administration, insolvent or has a striking off notice made against it
• your business was legally required to close between 5 November and 2 December 2020 but you are not a business rate account holder; or your business was not legally required to close between 5 November – 2 December 2020 but has been severely impacted by the restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19. For businesses in the second category you must demonstrate in your application form how your business has been severely impacted as a result of the lockdown restrictions
• your business is not eligible for the local restrictions support grant (closed) addendum grant
• the grant will not result in your business exceeding the maximum levels of State Aid. Grant payments count towards the total de minimis State Aid that you are permitted to receive over a 3-year period which is €200,000. If you have reached that threshold, you may still be eligible for funding under the Covid-19 Temporary Framework. The limit for the Temporary Framework is €800,000
• your business was not an undertaking in difficulty (within the meaning of Article 2 (18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation) on 31 December 2019

The additional restrictions grant cannot be used to support wages or labour costs.

How much funding you will receive

For business rates account holders:

• businesses with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under on the date of the commencement of the national restrictions: £1334 per 28-day qualifying restriction period
• businesses with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000 on the date of the commencement of the national restrictions: £2000 per 28-day qualifying restriction period
• businesses with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above on the commencement date of the national restrictions: £3,000 per 28-day qualifying restriction period

For businesses without a business rates account who don’t pay business rates, the amount of grant will be based the size of your business, using the number of full-time equivalent employees, excluding the business owner/owners:

• businesses with 0 employees: up to £1,334 per 28-day qualifying restriction period
• businesses with 1- 4 employees: up to £2,000 per 28-day qualifying restrictions period
• businesses with 5-49 employees: up to £3000 per 28-day qualifying restrictions period

Evidence needed

Before you begin your application form please ensure you have all of the following evidence available as electronic or scanned documents ready to upload.

If you don’t provide these documents then your application is unlikely to be successful.

• 3 months business bank statements from September- November 2020 (inclusive): Please provide your business bank statements from September- November 2020 showing the account holder name and address, bank name, sort code and account number and all transactions. The account details in the bank statements must correspond with the bank account details provided in the application form. If you cannot provide 3 months bank statements you must provide your November 2020 business bank statement
• business rates bill: If applicable you must provide a copy of your latest London Borough of Hackney business rates bill
• business premises lease, rental agreement, mortgage statement or market trading licence: You must provide a copy of your business premises lease, rental agreement, mortgage statement, or London Borough of Hackney market trading licence. If you are unable to provide this you must upload another form of evidence setting out the ongoing fixed costs that your business has to pay (eg utility bills, storage fees)
• confirmation of the amount of employees in your business: For businesses who employ staff you must provide a copy of your most up to date business payroll record showing the number of people (full-time equivalents) employed by your business. If a payroll record is not available please provide another form of evidence which verifies the number of people employed by your business
• photographic ID: Please provide one current form of photo identification such as a current passport or driving licence
• HMRC self-assessment tax return: If you are a sole trader or are self-employed you must provide a copy of your latest HMRC self-assessment tax return
• evidence of the impact of the 5 November- 2 December lockdown on your business: In the application form you will be asked to provide written evidence of the impact of the lockdown on your business. Your answer should set out if you were open or closed during this period, if you were able to trade online, the financial scale of Coronavirus related losses during this period (for example % drop in sales, loss of income in £s), and the ongoing fixed costs your business has to pay (for example utility bills, storage fees)

This grant scheme is for micro and small businesses physically based in commercial premises or residential premises in Hackney that were either:

• a) legally required to close during the December 2020 tier restrictions and the national lockdown from 5 January 2021 onwards (but are not business rate account holders and therefore not eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant); or
• b) not legally required to close during the December tier restrictions or the current national lockdown but have been severely impacted by the restrictions put in place to control the spread of Covid-19 (either with or without a Hackney business rates account).

For those businesses in the second category (b above) we encourage and will prioritise applications from businesses who supply and/or are related to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, businesses in the events sector, market traders (who are registered market traders with the London Borough of Hackney), and Ofsted registered nurseries and childminders.

If your business was legally required to close during the national lockdown starting in January and you are a Hackney business rates account holder you should apply for the Local Restrictions Support Grants and not this grant.

If you are unsure if your business was legally required to close by the government in December or January please review the documents below:

• December 2020: Tiers 1-4 restrictions and required business closures
• January 2021: National lockdown and required business closures

Exempt businesses: businesses based in virtual offices in Hackney who do not physically operate their business from a commercial or residential premises in the borough cannot receive a grant under this scheme.

The additional restrictions grant cannot be used to support staff wages or labour costs.

Who can apply

To apply your business must meet all of the following criteria:

• your business is based in the London Borough of Hackney physically operating from a commercial or domestic premises* or a London Borough of Hackney market trading pitch
  (*if your business is operating from a domestic premises then you will be asked to confirm in the application form that this was your usual mode of operating prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you are now working from home as a result of Covid-19 but your business would normally operate from a commercial premises in Hackney, then please provide your usual commercial premises address in Hackney on your application form)
• your business is a micro or small business as defined in the Companies Act 2006 (ie your business must have at least two of the following; not more than 50 employees, a turnover of not more than £10.2 million and a balance sheet total of not more than £5.1m)
• your business must have been trading on the 1 December 2020, the day before the December tier restrictions came into effect
• your business is still considered to have been trading on the 1 December if it was an active business at this time, even if your business was closed to the public due to Government restrictions
• your business has been severely financially impacted by the December tier restrictions and the current lockdown period
  your business is not in administration, insolvent or has a striking off notice made against it
• your business is not eligible for the local restrictions support grants
  the grant will not result in your business exceeding the maximum levels of State Aid. Grant payments count towards the total de minimis State Aid that you are permitted to receive over a 3-year period which is €200,000. If you have reached that threshold, you may still be eligible for funding under the Covid-19 Temporary Framework. The limit for the Temporary Framework is €800,000
• your business was not an undertaking in difficulty (within the meaning of Article 2 (18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation) on 31 December 2019.

How much funding you will receive

For Hackney business rates account holders:

• businesses with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or less: £3,000
• businesses with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000: £6,000
• businesses with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above: £9,000

Where a business has a business rate account and a rateable value but their number of employees would put them in a higher grant category (as set out on this page), the number of employees will then be used to determine the amount of grant payable.

For businesses without a business rates account who don’t pay business rates, the amount of grant will be based the size of your business, using the number of full-time equivalent PAYE employees, excluding the business owner/owners (unless company directors are also PAYE employees and this can be evidenced in your application form).

• businesses with 0 employees (sole traders): up to £3,000 (home based businesses will receive £2,000, businesses who operate from a commercial premises will receive £3,000)
• business with 1-9 employees: up to £6,000 (home based businesses will receive £4,000, businesses who operate from a commercial premises will receive £6,000)
• business with 10 or more employees: up to £9,000 (home based businesses will receive £7,000, businesses who operate from a commercial premises will receive £9,000)

In some cases the level of ongoing fixed commercial business premises costs may also be considered to determine the level of grant.

Market traders/street traders

Market traders/street traders will receive a payment of either £1,000 or £2,000 depending on numbers of days traded in the borough and the anticipated scale of the financial losses as a result of not being able to trade.

Evidence needed

Before you begin your application form please ensure you have all of the following evidence available as electronic or scanned documents ready to upload.

If you don’t provide these documents then your application is unlikely to be successful.

• 3 months business bank statements from November 2020- January 2021 (inclusive): Please provide your business bank statements from November 2020- January 2021 showing the account holder name and address, bank name, sort code and account number and all transactions. The account details in the bank statements must correspond with the bank account details provided in the application form. business rates bill: If applicable you must provide a copy of your latest London Borough of Hackney business rates bill
• business premises lease, rental agreement, mortgage statement or market trading licence: You must provide a copy of your business premises lease, rental agreement, mortgage statement, or market trading licence. If you do not have an up to date business premises lease, rental agreement or licence please provide another up to date form of evidence to demonstrate your business is physically based in Hackney eg a signed and dated letter from your landlord, recent utility bill for your business premises.
• confirmation of the amount of employees in your business: For businesses who employ staff you must provide a copy of your most up to date business payroll record showing the number of people (full-time equivalents) employed and paid via PAYE by your business.
• photographic ID: Please provide one current form of photo identification such as a current passport or driving licence
• HMRC self-assessment tax return: If you are a sole trader or are self-employed you must provide a copy of your latest HMRC self-assessment tax return
• evidence of the financial impact of the December tier restrictions and January onwards national lockdown on your business: In the application form you will be asked to provide written evidence of the impact of the lockdown on your business. Your answer should set out if you were open or closed during this period, if you were able to trade online, the financial scale of Coronavirus related losses during this period (for example % drop in sales, loss of income in £s), and the ongoing fixed costs your business has to pay (for example utility bills, storage fees)