Oxford businesses impacted by lockdown urged to apply for discretionary grants
Oxford City Council is urging businesses that have been severely impacted by lockdown closures to apply for the latest round of grants, with several pots of funding closing to applications at the end of May.
The Government has given the City Council £4.4m to provide discretionary grants to businesses in Oxford that have been severely impacted by the latest lockdown.
The City Council has been providing grant support to businesses throughout the pandemic.
Additional Restrictions Grant April-June 2021
Mirroring the Government Restart Grant, eligible businesses can apply for discretionary grants of up to £4,000 per 28 days (or more in exceptional cases). This follows on from the Additional Restrictions Grant scheme for December 2020 to March 2021, which are still available.
The discretionary grants – known as Additional Restrictions Grants – are available to businesses that have either:
- Closed temporarily as a result of the latest lockdowns and do not have a rateable value
- Remained open, but have been severely impacted by the latest lockdown
The grants are available to all types of businesses, including those outside the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, and those that do not pay business rates.
Priority business sectors include:
- The creative and cultural sectors, including the events industry, music/performance, venues freelancers
- Tourism and attraction businesses not eligible for the Restart Grant
- The social enterprise and charity sectors
- Transport provider companies
- English language schools who rely on international visitors
- Personal services businesses affected by restrictions (beauty treatments and therapies services, hairdressing, sport and fitness services)
- Eligible childcare providers with fixed costs
- Hospitality businesses (restaurants, caterers) that do not pay business rates and are not covered under the Restart Grant, or hospitality businesses that pay rates and require top up grants due to ongoing costs and losses.
- Manufacturers that can demonstrate they are severely affected by COVID restrictions.
Businesses that have successfully applied for the Additional Restrictions Grant previously could also be eligible for further payments, but they must re-apply for the April to June period.
Applications for this scheme closes on 31 May 2021.
Support for home based and mobile businesses
Eligible businesses can apply for one-off Home and Mobile Worker licence grants of up to £540.
The grants are to support the one-year costs of licences/registrations for home and mobile workers/businesses that are legally required to have authorised licences or registrations to operate/trade.
This includes businesses such as taxi drivers, driving instructors and street traders.
Applications for this scheme closes on 31 May 2021.
Councillor Ed Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management, said: “The past year has been a very difficult time for Oxford businesses. If you operate a business that is eligible for this funding, we would encourage you to apply as soon as possible. We are working hard to process applications and payments to ensure businesses get the money as quickly as we can.”
To find out more and to apply for a grant, visit: www.oxford.gov.uk/businesssupport
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