National and local restrictions business grants

This grant is for businesses that were required to close for the national lockdown period which began on 5 November.

Eligible businesses include: non-essential retail, leisure, personal care, sports facilities and hospitality businesses.

These grants are only available to those businesses rate account holders.

A single grant to cover the lockdown period will be paid to each eligible business. Businesses with more than one qualifying property will be able to receive more than one grant.

Funding amounts

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under will receive £1,334 per 28-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive £2,000 per 28-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 and above will receive £3,000 per 28 qualifying restriction period.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible:

• you must be the business rates account holder for the business premises
• you must have been trading on 4 November 2020, prior to the start of the national lockdown from 5 November 2020
• you must be a non-essential business that legally had to close from 5 November to 2 December 2020 (you are still eligible if for this grant if, as a result of lockdown measures, you continued to trade through click-and-collect, delivery or takeaway during this period)

You cannot receive grant funding if:

• you have chosen to close but have not been legally required to close by the government
• your usual (pre-lockdown) primary method of trading is as a takeaway
  you have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State Aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid 19 Temporary State Aid Framework. Grant payments count towards the total de minimis State Aid
• you’re allowed to get over a 3-year period which is 200,000 euros. 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 an undertaking in difficulty (within the meaning of Article 2 (18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation) on the 31 December 2019
• your business is in administration, insolvent, or is subject to a striking off notice
• you are not a London Borough of Hackney business rates account holder

Read the government guidance.

This grant is for businesses who were required to close on 23 March 2020 and have been unable to reopen since.

Eligible businesses include:

• nightclubs, discos, dance halls, hostess bars and adult entertainment venues

These grants are only available to business rates account holders.

The government has advised that payments will be made per 14-day closure period from the 1 November 2020 and will not be backdated.

During any national lockdown period, this grant will cease temporarily and eligible businesses will be paid from the local restrictions support grant (for closed businesses) grant fund.

Funding amounts

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under will receive £667 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive £1,000 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above will receive £1,500 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible:

• you must be the business rates account holder for the business premises
  you must have been trading on 22 March 2020 prior to the first national lockdown on 23 March
• you must be a nightclub, disco, dance hall, hostess bar or adult entertainment venue that was required to close on 23 March and has been legally required to stay closed since this date

You cannot receive grant funding if:

• you have reopened as another type of business (for example, changing a nightclub to a bar)
  you have chosen to close but have not been legally required to close by the government
• you have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State Aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid 19 Temporary State Aid Framework. Grant payments count towards the total de minimis State Aid
  you’re allowed to get 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 an undertaking in difficulty (within the meaning of Article 2 (18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation) on the 31 December 2019
• your businesses is in administration, insolvent, or is subject to a striking off notice
• you are not a London Borough of Hackney business rates account holder.

Read the government guidance.

This is a discretionary grant for businesses that have been most affected by the Tier 2 restrictions including preventing households from mixing indoors and the previous 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants.

This initial grant covers the 19 day period from 17 October to 4 November and the Council will assess your eligibility for a grant during this period using the details provided in the application form.

These grants are only available to business rates account holders.

The government has advised that this fund should be aimed at hospitality, accomodation, and leisure businesses who are most impacted by the Tier 2 restrictions.

Funding amounts

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under will receive up to £934 per 28-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive up to £1400 per 28-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000 will receive up to £2100 per 28 qualifying restriction period.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible:

• you must be the business rates account holder for the business premises
• you must have been trading on 16 October 2020, prior to the introduction of Tier 2 restrictions on 17 October 2020
• your business must be in the leisure, hospitality or accommodation sectors such as a cinema, restaurant, bar, pub, theatre, music venue, hotel, bed and breakfast, leisure or sports venue,gym, art gallery, museums or cafe

You cannot receive grant funding if:

• your business is a takeaway as it is considered that takeaways will not have been severely impacted by the Tier 2 restrictions
• your business is Airbnb style accommodation
• you have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State Aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid 19 Temporary State Aid Framework. Grant payments count towards the total de minimis State Aid you’re allowed to get over a 3-year period which is 200,000 euros. 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 an undertaking in difficulty (within the meaning of Article 2 (18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation) on the 31 December 2019
• your business is in administration, insolvent, or is subject to a striking off notice
• you are not a London Borough of Hackney business rates account holder

Read the government guidance.

This is a discretionary grant for businesses that have been most affected by the Tier 2 restrictions which prevented households from mixing indoors.

This grant covers the Tier 2 period from 2 December to 19 December and the Council will assess your eligibility for a grant during this period using the details provided in the application form.

These grants are only available to business rates account holders.

The government has advised that this fund should be aimed at hospitality, accomodation, and leisure businesses who are most impacted by the Tier 2 restrictions.

Funding amounts

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under will receive up to £467 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive up to £700 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000 will receive up to £1050 per 14 qualifying restriction period.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible:

• you must be the business rates account holder for the business premises and be registered for business rates with Hackney Council
• you must have been trading on 1 December 2020, prior to the introduction of Tier 2 restrictions on 2 December 2020. Please note if your business was closed on 1 December as a result of Government Covid-19 restrictions but would otherwise have been open and trading then you will be considered to have been trading on the 1st December
• your business must be in the leisure, hospitality or accommodation sectors such as a cinema, restaurant, bar, pub, theatre, music venue, hotel, bed and breakfast, leisure or sports venue, gym, art gallery, museums or cafe

You cannot receive grant funding if:

• your business is a takeaway as it is considered that takeaways will not have been severely impacted by the Tier 2 restrictions
• your business is Airbnb style accommodation
• you have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State Aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid 19 Temporary State Aid Framework. Grant payments count towards the total de minimis State Aid you’re allowed to get over a 3-year period which is 200,000 euros. 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 an undertaking in difficulty (within the meaning of Article 2 (18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation) on the 31 December 2019
• your business is in administration, insolvent, or is subject to a striking off notice
• you are not a London Borough of Hackney business rates account holder

Read the government guidance.

This grant is for businesses that were required to close due to Tier 2 or 3 restrictions that were in place from 2 December 2020 until the 19 December 2020.

Eligible businesses include:

• pubs that could not serve table meals and therefore had to close during Tier 2 restrictions, where alcohol could only be served on the premises as part of a meal
• hospitality, accommodation, conference centres, exhibitions halls, indoor tourism, entertainment and leisure venues that were required to close under Tier 3 restrictions. Read more information on the businesses required to close in Tier 3

These grants are only available to business rates account holders.

Funding amounts

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under on the date of the commencement of the local restrictions will receive a payment of £667 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000 on the date of the commencement of the local restrictions will receive a payment of £1,000 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses occupying hereditaments appearing on the local rating list with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above on the commencement date of the local restrictions, will receive £1,500 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible:

• you must have been required by the government to close your in-person customer service from the premises as a result of tier restrictions
• you must be the business rates account holder for the business premises and be registered for business rates with Hackney Council
• you must have been trading the day before the relevant tier restrictions came into effect. Where local restrictions are preceded by national lockdown measures, requiring the extended closure of eligible businesses, it is accepted that those businesses are still trading

You cannot receive grant funding if:

• you have chosen to close but have not been legally required to close by the Government
• your usual (pre-lockdown) primary method of trading is as a takeaway
  you have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State Aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid 19 Temporary State Aid Framework. Grant payments count towards the total de minimis State Aid you’re allowed to get over a 3-year period which is 200,000 euros. 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 an undertaking in difficulty (within the meaning of Article 2 (18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation) on the 31 December 2019
• your business is in administration, insolvent, or is subject to a striking off notice
• you are not a London Borough of Hackney business rates account holder

Read the government guidance.

This grant is for businesses that were required to close during the Tier 4 period in London. This grant covers the period from the 19 December 2020 onwards. Further information on funding available for the 5 January onwards lockdown period will be available shortly.

Eligible businesses include:

• non-essential retail, leisure, personal care, sports facilities and hospitality businesses legally required to close by the government during this period. Read more information on the businesses required to close in Tier 4

These grants are only available to business rate account holders.

Funding amounts

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under on the date of the commencement of the widespread national restrictions will receive a payment of £667 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000 on the date of the commencement of the widespread national restrictions will receive a payment of £1,000 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligible businesses with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above on the commencement date of the widespread national restrictions, will receive £1,500 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible:

• you must have been required by the government to close your in-person customer service from the premises as a result of tier restrictions
• your business must have been trading the day prior to Tier 4 restrictions being introduced (18 December 2020) or the day before Tier 2 or 3 restrictions were introduced if you were required by government to close earlier as a result of these restrictions
• you must be the business rates account holder for the business premises.

You cannot receive grant funding if:

• you have chosen to close but have not been legally required to close by the government
• your usual (pre-lockdown) primary method of trading is as a takeaway
  you have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State Aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid 19 Temporary State Aid Framework. Grant payments count towards the total de minimis State Aid you’re allowed to get over a 3-year period which is 200,000 euros. 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 an undertaking in difficulty (within the meaning of Article 2 (18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation) on the 31 December 2019
• your business is in administration, insolvent, or is subject to a striking off notice
• you are not a London Borough of Hackney business rates account holder

Read the government guidance.

This is a one-off grant for wet-led pubs and bars for December and is in addition to any other grant awards you may be eligible for under Tier 2, 3 or 4 restrictions.

Pubs and bars that derive less than 50% of sales from food are considered to be wet-led.

These grants are only available to business rates account holders.

Applications close 31 January 2021 and payments will be made before 28 February 2021.

Funding amounts

Eligible businesses will receive a £1,000 one-off payment.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible:

• your business must be a pub (the definition of a pub excludes restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, hotels, snack bars, guesthouses, boarding houses, sporting venues, music venues, festival sites, theatres, museums, exhibition halls, cinemas, concert halls and casinos)
• when trading, your business is open to general members of the public
• when trading, your business allows free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided
• when trading, your business allows drinking without requiring food to be consumed
• your business was trading on the day before the scheme was announced (i.e trading on the 30 November 2020)
• your business receives more than 50% of business income from the sales of drinks, and under 50% of business income from food sales

Please note if your business was closed on the 30 November 2020 as a result of Government Covid-19 restrictions, but would otherwise have been open and trading then you will be considered to have been trading on the 30 November.

You cannot receive grant funding if:

• you have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State Aid permitted under the de minimis and the Covid 19 Temporary State Aid Framework. Grant payments count towards the total de minimis State Aid you’re allowed to get over a 3-year period which is 200,000 euros. 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 an undertaking in difficulty (within the meaning of Article 2 (18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation) on the 31 December 2019
• your business is in administration, insolvent, or is subject to a striking off notice
• you are not a London Borough of Hackney business rates account holder

Read the government guidance.

Round 1 of the additional restrictions grant closed for applications at 11.59pm on 8 January 2021.

Applications for round 1 are now being processed and all applicants will be contacted with the outcome of their application by the end of February 2021.

Round 2 of the additional restrictions grant will be launched on this page soon and announced in the Hackney Business Network newsletter.

The eligibility criteria below relates to round 1 and is for information only, this will be updated when round 2 is launched.

Round 1 criteria

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.

The additional restrictions grant is now available for applications until Friday 8 January 2021.

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)

After you’ve applied

The additional restrictions grant is available for applications until Friday 8 January 2021. We will process applications in January and businesses will be notified of the outcome of your application as soon as possible.

Applications will be determined in the order that they are received. In determining eligibility for a grant the Council will consider the scale of financial need and hardship experienced by businesses taking into account your business type and sector, the impact that the national lockdown has had on your business, and the ongoing fixed costs that your business has to pay.

There is no appeals process for decisions made.