Financial Grants For Omicron Support

The Government has provided a support package of £635 million to local councils in order to support those who have been most affected by the Omicron variant.

This funding is a part of the £1 billion support package that was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak last month.

These grants have been described as being very generous by the Gov, as they are the same size as the monthly grants that were provided when businesses were unable to trade during the third lockdown.

Business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said: “‘The spread of the Omicron variant is presenting new challenges, particularly for the hospitality and leisure sectors, so it’s only right that we are stepping up with an urgent £1bn support package.”

Who is the grant for?

Businesses in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors can apply for grants of up to £6,000 to help support them after the vast increase in cancellations and decline in footfall over the last month.

However, there is an additional fund for other businesses available too, which we will cover below.

How much can you apply for?

Businesses within these sectors, specifically those who offer in-person services and with a rateable value of £51,00 or above can apply for the full grant amount of £6,000.

Those with a value between £15,000 and £51,000 can apply for a £4,000 grant.

Businesses that have a value below £15,000 can apply for £2,667.

How do you apply?

Businesses can apply to their local council for grant funding.

Local authorities will administer the funding over the coming weeks with funding allocation at their discretion, intended for the businesses that are the most in need in their communities.

What other funding is available?

An additional fund of more than £102 million has been made available, falling under the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG).

This is the third round of funding in this scheme and has been made available to support other businesses affected such as those that supply the hospitality and leisure sectors, as well as personal care services.

An additional £30 million has also been granted to the Culture Recovery Fund, which supports museums, galleries and theatres.

The Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme, which reimburses businesses with fewer than 250 employees for Covid-19-related sickness absences, has been reintroduced.

What about those outside of England?

Devolved administrations have also received £154 million in funding to cover all of their schemes. Scotland will receive around £80 million, with £50 million going to Wales and £25 million going to Northern Ireland.