Covid business support fund worth £1.5 billion has not paid out a penny since launch six months ago
Covid funding package announced by Government six months ago blocked by parliamentary procedure
By Steve Houghton - 11 Oct 2021 - Wales Online
A £1.5 billion support pot for businesses unable to get tax relief during the pandemic has not paid out a single penny despite being announced six months ago.
In March, the Government announced that it would retrospectively ban more than 170,000 business rates appeals which cited the pandemic as the reason for changing property values.
We also sent an emails to the HM Treasury and Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities(DLUHC) requesting an update and received the response below from DLUHC:
Dear Martin Shapcott
Thank you for your email of 1 October.
As you note, the Government announced on the 25 March, plans to provide a targeted £1.5 billion support package for businesses who have been unable to benefit from the existing £16 billion business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. Further information about the announcement can be found at: (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/business-rates-relief-boosted-with-new-15-billion-pot.
As set out in the announcement, this additional £1.5 billion relief scheme will be made available to ratepayers as soon as possible once legislation has passed and local authorities have set up their own local schemes. This Department will publish guidance for local authorities in due course, this will set out the broad parameters of the fund.
The Government introduced the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill into Parliament in May. The Bill has now completed its passage through the Commons, and was introduced in the Lords on 10 September. Information about the Bill and the passage of the legislation can be found here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2861/publications.