Coronavirus – Business Support
Coronavirus or COVID19 has already had a profound impact on all of us.
We are very conscious that businesses face extraordinary pressures and uncertainty and we want to do everything that we can to help.
That includes making sure that the money the Government has paid to us to support local businesses gets to them as quickly as possible. This message covers revised business rates liabilities and grants to small businesses.
Revised business rates liabilities
We have already sent amended business rates demands to companies in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors showing the revised nil liability for the financial year 2020/21. Government advice on this has been updated since the initial announcement and we are keeping up with any new guidance issued as quickly as we can.
If you haven’t received your revised bill yet please wait a few days before contacting us, as you’ll appreciate how busy we are just now. If you still haven’t received it by 13 April please contact business.rates@onesource.co.uk.
If you are still liable to pay business rates then you still need to do so. Of course, if you want to discuss a payment plan or other measures then please get in touch with us via business.rates@onesource.co.uk and we’ll do what we can to help. However, please remember that some businesses have seen their sales unaffected or even increased during this emergency and that we also need to use our council tax income to pay for care workers and all our other essential services we are providing to help vulnerable residents through this pandemic.
Grants: Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund
You have been identified as possibly being eligible for one of these two schemes. Please see below details of each grant available and a link to the relevant form. Please complete the relevant form at your earliest convenience. For further information, please see the links at the bottom of this email.
Small Business Grant Fund
Business Properties included in this scheme are those which on the 11 March 2020 were eligible for relief under the business rate Small Business Rate Relief Scheme (including those with a Rateable Value between £12,000 and £15,000, which did not receive 100% discount but instead receive tapered relief).
This means that if you meet this criteria you will be eligible for a grant of £10,000. Only one grant per business is available under the scheme.
Please visit the link below in order to find out what you need to do in order to claim the grant.
Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant
Business properties which on the 11 March 2020 had a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 and would have been eligible for a discount under the business rates Expanded Retail Discount Scheme had that scheme been in force for that date are eligible for the grant. This will include businesses in the Retail, hospitality and leisure sector.
This means that if you meet this criteria you will be eligible for a grant of £10,000 if your rateable value of your property is up to £15,000 and a £25,000 grant if your property has a rateable value between £15,001 and £ 50,999.
Eligible recipients will receive one grant per business property.
If you have any questions on this please contact business.rates@onesource.co.uk
Please visit the link below to apply for the relevant grant.
Further information:
If you need other support the check our dedicated website https://www.newham.gov.uk/Pages/ServiceChild/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Business-Support.aspx or you can contact our business help desk on newhambusinessdesk@newham.gov.uk.
Covid-19 update
For links to the most up to date information on Covid-19 go to www.newham.gov.uk
You will find links to all of the current government and NHS information, along with help, advice and guidance for residents and business as it becomes available. This information is being updated all the time so keep checking back
Yours sincerely,
Newham Business Rates Team