Plymouth City Council has been allocated £5.2 million through the Government’s Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) to support local businesses that have been most impacted by the current national coronavirus restrictions – in particular retail, leisure and hospitality businesses and their supply chain.

The Council has also identified types of businesses that it will prioritise for support, including childcare providers, language schools, fishing businesses and the creative and event industry.

Businesses may be eligible to apply for financial support through the ARG is they:

• Have been legally required to close under current national restrictions, but were not eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (as they do not pay business rates, or pay packed rent and rates);
• Have not been legally required to close but have suffered a significant loss in turnover as a result of the national restrictions.

Crucially, it will support businesses that cannot claim from the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) scheme (which gives grants to rate-paying businesses that have been forced to close from 5 November to December). In order to claim a grant, businesses must meet the following criteria:

• Must have been trading on or before 4 November 2020;
• Must be a micro or small business with up to 50 employees;
• Must have ongoing fixed monthly business costs in Plymouth (for example rents, wages, insurances or mooring fees);
• Can confirm they have been significantly affected by coronavirus (a minimum of 30 per cent loss in income);
• If a home-based business, they must be registered with HMRC and able to provide their Company Unique Taxpayer Reference and a copy of their most recent tax return.

Businesses will not be eligible for the funding if they:

• Have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State Aid permitted under the EU State aid De-Minimis Regulation and the Covid-19 Temporary State Aid Framework;
• Are in administration, insolvent or where a striking off order has been made.

The £5.2 million funding allocated to Plymouth is required to last until March 2022, so will be split into three tranches to ensure fair distribution. Applications for the ARG scheme are open from 10am today (Monday 30 November) through Plymouth City Council.