Small Business Rates Relief

ervinpicari

I agree with Jim!

DavidBrazier

Good news. Earlier this week the Department for Business, Energy, & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announced that about half a million eligible Businesses had got more than £6 Billion in Grants from the BEIS schemes. Well to be exact - 491,725 Businesses got £6,114.420,000. What this means is that 51% of eligible Businesses have been paid using just 49.5% of the funds allocated to Local Councils. Because the numbers are in Billions the projected gap is an astonishing ‘underspend’ of £333 Million. Leicester is doing even better than the national average: 52% of Grants paid using just 44% of its cash. It has a projected gap of more than £13 Million. Yesterday the Council said that there are only around 130 Charities in Leicester excluded by BEIS Guidance from getting a Small Business Grant. What is the cost of changing the Guidance to include all eligible Charities in Leicester? Just £1.3 Million. The Council has the cash. All that is needed is for BEIS to change its Guidance. And that would help Charities not just in Leicester but all over England.

RevLesGill

Helping Hands Advice Service provides for the needs of 1000s people who are mentally ill, are affected by poverty, and disadvantaged by circumstance. At a time when their lives are in crisis they will lose access to vital face to face advice, care and support services if we cannot maintain our Advice Centre/Business Premises. Because of the lockdown we have had to change to an online, telephone, email and social media, with Skype interviews being offered to vulnerable clients who are suicidal. When the lockdown ends our premises will need to be adapted to achieve social distancing and as a small independent charity we do not have the funds to pay for the adaptation and maintain our services. The refusal by Central and Local Government to pay charities like ours the £10,000 small business grant is an absolute disgrace and discriminates purely on the grounds of semantics. We are a small business  so stop splitting hairs and pay up!

vstephenson

I completely agree with RevLesGill - many charities are indeed small businesses and therefore should be treated as such with regard to this small business grant!

VickiDee

I work for a small charity and we have so far been unable to access any support other than through the furloughing scheme.  We are losing around 10k per month to date yet the need for our support from the public is increasing.  80% of our income is self-generated,  I just can't see how we can survive this, the 10k grant would have really helped us to maintain services at this difficult time.  I hope the government reconsider before it is too late, small charities will leave huge gaps if forced to close. 

abdish

Thank you David Brazier for making aware of the existence of this forum.

The impact on Covid-19 on the frontline charities is somehow is an existential threat. I am a project manager of  Leicester based educational charity called Aqoon Schools Home Support Services which was active since 2004 and has been supporting disadvantaged BME children and young people who are at risk of school exclusion and educational underachievement. Most of the services Aqoon delivers include school-based mentoring services, mediation, and advocacy for young people who are excluded from schools. These services were regarded by many as value-added and preventative. 
It is important to acknowledge that smaller charities do not occupy in a big building and some of them, possibly, operate on hot-desking.

I would like to ask a question, Am I right only charities that pay business rates are eligible for the £10,000 grant? 

DavidBrazier

Abdish the Short answer to your question is Yes and  er…No. It’s complicated!

Yes, because only businesses getting a percentage reduction in their business rates on 11 March 2020 as a result of small business rates relief are eligible to apply for the £10,000 grant. Lots of small businesses are run from people’s homes, garages, cars, and vans. Some are run from hot desks in co-working spaces. And lots of charities work in the same way. None of them are likely to be eligible for the £10,000 grant.

 And No because most charities cannot get a £10,000 grant even if they do have a business rates bill. This is because most charities get charitable rates relief not small business rates relief. A very small number of charities get both part charitable relief and part small business relief. These charities may well be eligible. The other main exception in the Guidance is for charities in the Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Sector. This is not just shops or charity shops. The long list goes over 3 sides A4. It includes nightclubs and betting shops. And a 200-word definition of “live music venue”.

 It is complicated. But the overwhelming majority of charities are not in the Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Sector. And are not eligible for a £10,000 grant. This is wrong. There should be Parity for Charity. To achieve this Government Guidance should be changed. Now - before lots of small charities cease to exist.

danieldsc

I did hear yesterday - via NCVO - that the business interruption scheme has been changed to allow more charities to access loans but I'm guessing this doesn't apply to the £10k grants that are doubtless more relevant to smaller charities?

DavidBrazier

The GOV.UK website had a News story on it earlier today. "Top-up to local business grants fund scheme". "A discretionary fund has been set up to accommodate certain small businesses previously outside the scope of the business grant funds scheme. This additional fund is aimed at small businesses with onging fixed property-related costs. We are asking local authorities to prioritise businesses in shared spaces, regular market traders, small charity properties that would meet the criteria for Small Business Rates Relief and.... "  Exactly what this means is not yet clear. It says further guidance for local authorities will be set out shortly. And when it is I will let you know all about it.  Watch this Space !

JohnMont

Lets hope "Parity For Charity" is forthcoming as it is these organisations that communities are relying on to help them NOW and their role will be even more important through the recovery stage-we need to ensure they are still there to fight the good fight.