Stockport Council releases guidance for Local Authority Discretionary Grants

Stockport Council has released its full guidance for businesses looking to apply for Local Authority Discretionary Grants, announced by Government to allow councils to support businesses that have been unable to access other Covid-19 financial support.

In line with government guidance to councils, published on 13th May 2020, Stockport Council has now published its full guidance as to how it will distribute the funding to small businesses in the borough.

Grants will take the form of one-off payments, ranging from £2,500 to £25,000 depending on business costs, and the impact the coronavirus has had on income, with a minimum monthly rent per calendar month of £250 necessary to be eligible. Businesses that Stockport Council will aim to prioritise for the grants include:

• Small and micro businesses, as defined in Section 33 Part 2 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 and the Companies Act 2006.
• Businesses with relatively high ongoing fixed property-related costs
• Businesses which can demonstrate that they have suffered a significant fall in income due to the COVID-19 crisis
• Businesses which occupy property, or part of a property, with a rateable value or annual rent or annual mortgage payments below £51,000.
• Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces.
• Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

Businesses which are eligible for other forms of coronavirus related support, such as the Small Business Grant Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant, will not be able to apply for the Local Authority Discretionary Grant. Grant income will be considered taxable, and State Aid rules and requirements also apply to the scheme.

Application window for grants closes on Wednesday 3rd June at 5pm, with payment of grants from 5th June. Applications may reopen for a second round of funding with expanded eligibility should some of the grant fund not have been claimed, and grant levels may be amended should the scheme be oversubscribed.