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Coronavirus (Covid-19) business support grants provided by Allerdale Borough Council

Subsidy allowance and tax information

We are not currently administering any government business grant schemes but you can find details of previous ones below.

Recipients of COVID-19 business grant schemes must follow the national rules on grant subsidy allowances. These rules came into effect on March 4, 2021. They replace previous requirements to comply with EU state aid rules.

The UK remains bound by its international commitments, including subsidy obligations set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the EU. Guidance explaining the subsidies chapter of the TCA, World Trade Organisation rules on subsidies, and other international commitments can be found on the government website .  

The TCA document can be found on the European Commission website .

The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant is covered by three subsidy allowances. A broad summary of the requirements is below, however if businesses are unsure which applies, it is advisable to consult with a financial adviser regarding compliance.

  • Under the ‘small amounts of financial assistance allowance,’ a single economic actor, which is defined as an entity or a group of entities, must not receive more than £335,000 (subject to exchange rates Calculator for Special Drawing Rights (SDR) ) in grants over any three year fiscal period
  • In cases where this threshold is reached, there is a further ‘COVID-19 business grant allowance’ of £1,900,000 per single economic actor.
  • Beyond this threshold, there is a ‘COVID-19 business grant special allowance’ where applicants may be able to access a further allowance of up to £10,000,000 per single economic actor, subject to conditions.

Tax

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

Payments made to businesses before April 5, 2022, will fall into the 2021/22 tax year. 

Grants we have administered previously

Omicron Hospitality and Leisure (OHL) Grant

We received guidance from government about this grant to support businesses (as of 30 December).  

The scheme provided support to hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses in recognition that the rise of the Omicron variant means that some businesses have been struggling during this time. 

The support will be a one-off grant, available for businesses on the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) business ratings list on 30 December only. 

Grants amounts that are available
Rateable valueGrant award amount
Rateable value of £15,000 or under£2,667
Rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000£4,000
Rateable value of exactly £51,000 or over£6,000

The primary principle of the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme was to support businesses that offer in-person services, where the main service and activity takes place in a fixed rate-paying premises, in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors.

The types of business that were eligible through the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant are listed below.

Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant eligibility list 

The following definitions for the purposes of this scheme are as below: 

  • hospitality definition: a business whose main function is to provide a venue for the consumption and sale of food and drink; 
  • leisure definition: a business that provides opportunities, experiences and facilities, in particular for culture, recreation, entertainment, celebratory events, days and nights out, betting and gaming; 
  • accommodation definition: a business whose main lodging provision is used for holiday, travel and other purposes. 

This list is not exhaustive, but indicative of the types of businesses that could be supported under this scheme.

Businesses eligible under sector thresholds for this scheme
Support typeTypes of businesses
HospitalityFood courts, Public houses/pub restaurants, Restaurants, Roadside restaurants, Wine bars and cafes.
LeisureCasinos and gambling clubs, Cinemas, Museums and art galleries, Stately homes & historic houses, Theatres, Zoos & safari parks, Amusement parks, Wedding venues, Events venues, Night clubs & discotheques, Arenas, Concert halls, Tourist attractions, Theme parks, Amusement arcades, Soft play centres or areas, Clubs & institutions, Village halls & scout huts, cadet huts, etc.
AccommodationCaravan parks, Caravan sites and pitches, Chalet parks, Coaching inns, Country house hotels, Guest houses, Hostels, Hotels, Lodge Holiday apartments, cottages or bungalows, Campsites, Boarding houses, Canal boats or other vessels, B&Bs, Catered holiday homes, Holiday homes.

Exclusions to the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant

Businesses were unable to apply for funding if:

  • The business was not trading on December 30, 2021;
  • The business was not registered in the business rates system on December 30, 2021;
  • The business was in administration or insolvent, or a striking off notice was been made;
  • The business had already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of Subsidy Allowance (further information below);
  • The business was listed as a restricted business. More detail is below.

Hospitality restricted businesses

For these purposes, the definition of a hospitality business should exclude: food kiosks and businesses whose main service (generating 50 per cent or more of income) is a takeaway (not applicable to those that have adapted to offer takeaways during periods of restrictions, in alignment with previous COVID-19 business grant schemes).

Leisure restricted businesses

For these purposes, the definition of a leisure business should exclude: all retail businesses, coach tour operators, tour operators, and gyms and sports businesses where physical exercise or training is conducted on an individual or group basis (these include dance and fitness studios, sports centres and clubs, sports courts, swimming pools, and golf courses).

Accommodation restricted businesses

For these purposes, the definition of an accommodation business should exclude: private dwellings, education accommodation, residential homes, care homes, residential family centres and beach huts.

The proposed exclusions are not exhaustive and it will be for councils to determine those cases where eligibility is unclear.

Applying for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant 

All grant income received by a business is taxable. This grant is subject to subsidy allowance rules. More information on tax and subsidy rules.

The application process was very similar to previous grant schemes administered by the council.

You needed an account with the myAllerdale service. You could use an existing login, or create a new one (this can be done when you click the link to apply). 

Please make sure you have the following information and evidence ready for when you complete the application form:   

  • business bank statement dated within the past two months 
  • your unique business rates reference number (located on your NNDR/business rates bill from the council) 
  • full details of all the business grants you have received to date alongside any other public funding or subsidies your business entity has received over the last three fiscal years (the previous schemes that we have administered are listed at the bottom of this page and you will have received confirmation from us of any grants awarded) 
  • Your business unique reference number  
  • For limited companies, this should be your companies house registration number 
  • For other ratepayers, this may be your national insurance number, unique taxpayer reference, VAT registration number, charity registration number, etc 

This grant scheme is now closed (18 March 2022)

Omicron Support Scheme

The Government announced a third top up amount to local authorities for the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG), to support businesses severely impacted by the rise of the Omicron variant that were not eligible for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant. As with previous rounds of ARG, grants were issued at the discretion of the local authority and based on local economic need.

The Omicron Support Scheme was intended to help businesses severely impacted by the rise of the Omicron variant and coronavirus restrictions, but not eligible for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme. This included businesses outside of the business rates system.

Given the limited funding available for this round of ARG we considered applications using the following categories:

Category A

  • Businesses in the hospitality, hotel, bed & breakfast and leisure industries that are not business rated
  • Event and event management businesses
  • Businesses that directly organise, facilitate or perform at organised events
  • Businesses in the travel and tourism sector, including group travel, travel agents and tour operators, coach operators.

Category B

  • Businesses that directly supply the hospitality, leisure and events sectors (e.g. wholesalers, breweries, etc.) This should not include businesses where supply to supermarkets accounts for 50% or more of their business
  • Businesses that rely on close physical contact (e.g. personal care, hair and beauty, driving instructors, taxi drivers etc). Taxi drivers must have a valid Allerdale Borough Council issued licence and have a residential address and/or be operating mainly within Allerdale.

Category C

  • Self-catering accommodation that is not business-rated
  • Other businesses - we used our discretion to consider grant applications from any other business operating in the Allerdale area, that was severely impacted by the rise of the Omicron variant.

Priority was given to businesses in Category A. If there was a balance of funds remaining after grants were made to Category A businesses, Category B businesses' applications were considered. If there was a balance of funds remaining after grants were made to Category B businesses, Category C businesses' applications were considered.

Please note: We will contact applicants by letter after the grant scheme has closed on 18 February 2022 to advise on the outcome of their application.

The support will be a one-off grant.

How much funding will be available?

A larger grant amount may be given in exceptional cases where the business has very high business-related costs and/or a very high loss of turnover, and the failure of the business would have a significant impact on the residents of the district. We reserve the right to change the amount of the grant awards, depending on the number of applications received.

All grant income received by a business is taxable. This grant was subject to subsidy allowance rules.

This grant scheme has closed. The deadline for applications was 21 November 2021

This scheme closed to applications on 31 March 2021 and we are dealing with outstanding applications at present.

This grant scheme closed on 31 March 2021.

This grant scheme closed on 31 March 2021.

This grant scheme closed to applications on 31 March 2021

Applications for these grants have now closed.

This grant scheme has now closed.

The scheme closed to applications on 15 December 2020.

Wet-led pubs Christmas Support Payment

The Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs was a one off £1,000 payment which was payable on top of grant funding available through the Local Restrictions Support Grant. 

Wet-led pubs were defined as those who derive under 50% of their income from food sales. These businesses could be either open or closed under the restrictions in place at the time, but they had to be active businesses.

The scheme closed to all applications on 28 February 2021. 

Second payment cycle covering 16 February to 31 March 2021

The Local Restrictions Support Grant for Closed Businesses was available until 31 March 2021.

Under the government's lockdown easing roadmap, payments were made in accordance with the following:

  • if your business has a property with a rateable value of £15,000 or less, you may have been eligible for a cash grant of £2,096 for this 44-day qualifying restrictions period

  • if your business has a property with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000, you may have been eligible for a cash grant of £3,143 for this 44-day qualifying restrictions period

  • if your business has a property with a rateable value of £51,000 or above, you may have been eligible for a cash grant of £4,714 for this 44-day qualifying restrictions period.

No applications can be accepted after 31 May 2021.

This scheme closed to applications on 30 June 2021.