We have included a business grants graphic (click on the graphic above to open fully) that is intended to help businesses figure out which grants they might be eligible for, however, each grant may have further eligibility criteria that businesses must satisfy in order to be eligible for a payment. Businesses should also check the eligibility for the grants before applying, to ensure they meet all the necessary eligibility criteria.
If you are unable to read the graphic, please contact us at 01228 817200.
UPDATE: Following the Government’s roadmap announcement on Monday 22 February 2021, businesses that currently receive payments under the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) do not need to reapply.
We will make automatic payments after the funding from Government has been received.
We are working closely with Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, Cumbria Tourism and Carlisle Ambassadors to support local businesses.
Coronavirus Business Grants
A summary of the various grants we are administering is set out below.
We are doing everything to simplify the process for local business owners, including where possible automated payments based on any previous applications.
If you have already completed an application form and received a grant from us for the period 5 November - 2 December 2020 for the Local Restrictions Support Grant due to national restrictions (for closed businesses), please do not complete this application form again. We are hoping to automatically pay as many grants as possible (for eligible closed businesses from 31 December 2020 onwards) as a lump sum payment using the bank details already provided.
One off top-up grants for closed retail, leisure and hospitality sectors
The Chancellor has announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth between £4,000 and £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the spring.
Please see further information here.
If you have already applied for, and are eligible for, the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed), we are paying these grants, but if you believe you are eligible, (you must be mandated to close), and have not received anything, please contact us by emailing [email protected]
Local Restrictions Support Grant (closed businesses) application
The Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed Premises) is for businesses that are required to close under restrictions imposed.
Following the Government’s roadmap announcement on Monday 22 February 2021, businesses that currently receive payments under the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) do not need to reapply. We will make automatic payments after the funding from Government has been received.
Eligible businesses are those that have been required to close by Government and include non-essential retail, hospitality venues, accommodation, leisure and sports facilities, entertainment venues, personal care, community centres and halls. If your substantive business has closed, however you are operating a click and collect service, please complete the application form below.
An online application form is available here.
Please note: If you have already received a grant for the November 2020 national restrictions, you do not need to submit another application.
To qualify for this grant, your business must be based in Carlisle and has been:
- Open as usual before the restrictions.
- Providing services in person to customers from the premises.
- Required to close due to restrictions imposed by government.
- Paying business rates for the premises before restrictions commenced.
Or, your business has had to remain closed on a national basis since 23 March 2020. This includes nightclubs, dance halls, discos, sexual entertainment venues and hostess bars.
The LRSG(C) is a mandatory grant for businesses that have a rateable value. Please note the scheme is not based on eligibility for rate reliefs.
Businesses with more than one qualifying property will receive more than one grant.
The rate of payment for eligible businesses will be:
- Businesses occupying a property appearing on the local rating list with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under on the date of the commencement of the widespread national restrictions will receive a payment of £1,334 per 28-days qualifying restriction period.
- Businesses occupying a property appearing on the local rating list with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000 on the date of the commencement of the widespread national restrictions will receive a payment of £2,000 per 28-days qualifying restriction period.
- Businesses occupying a property appearing on the local rating list with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above on the commencement date of the widespread national restrictions, will receive £3,000 per 28-days qualifying restriction period.
An apportioned amount for Tier 4 (31.12.20 - 4.01.21) will also be paid.
Business qualifying for support will also receive a Closed Business Lockdown one-off payment calculated as follows:
- £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under.
- £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000.
- £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or above.
Businesses in administration, insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made are not eligible for funding under this scheme.
Awards made under this support are required to comply with the law relating on State Aid. In this instance an award if you have received any other de minimis State Aid, including any other grant funding for premises other than the one to which this letter relates, must not exceed the increased threshold of €3 million an undertaking can receive under EU Regulations which currently remain applicable.
If your business has not closed, support may be available through the Council’s Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). The criteria and online application form are available here.
Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs
The Christmas Support payment is a single one-off payment of £1,000.00 for wet-led pubs. The scheme is available to eligible businesses trading on 30 November 2020. We have extended the deadline for applications for the Christmas Support Payment to Sunday 28 February 2021.
The link to the online applications is available here.
For the purposes of this grant, a wet-led pub is defined as a pub that derives less than 50% of its income from sales of food.
Under this grant scheme the following venues are excluded: restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, hotels, snack bars, guest houses, boarding houses, sporting venues, music venues, festival sites theatres, museums, exhibition halls, cinemas, concert halls and casinos.
To qualify for this grant, your business must be based in Carlisle and on 30 November 2020:
- Open to the general public, as a wet-led pub.
- Allowed free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided.
- Allowed drinking without requiring food to be consumed and permit drinks to be purchased at a bar.
- Liable for business rates for the premises.
If your business has previously been paid a Small Business Grant, Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant or Local Restrictions Support (Closed) Grant, we will be able to consider this application for other available funding.
From December 2, wet pubs, bars and other venues selling alcohol that don’t serve substantial meals must stay closed. These business that are required to stay closed will continue to receive support, fortnightly, for as long as restrictions remain in place.
Public houses, bars or businesses serving alcohol for consumption on the premises (without a substantial meal) that have not yet applied for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) since November 5, please apply now to enable regular payments to be made during the restriction periods.
If your substantive business has closed, however, you are operating a take-away service, you can still apply.
This form will be used for all relevant periods.
Businesses with more than one qualifying property will receive more than one payment.
Businesses in administration, insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made are not eligible for funding under this scheme.
Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open)
For business which are severely impacted by the Tier 2 Restrictions but not required to close, the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) scheme will apply. This scheme focuses on supporting hospitality, accommodation and leisure businesses in line with Government guidance.
We have a limited budget for this fund, and while we will aim to support as many business as possible, we have set a priority A category which we will aim to support first, and then a priority B, which we will aim to support if we are satisfied that we can support all the priority A businesses which are eligible.
Priority A
Business which fall into this category are:
- Pubs, restaurants and cafes (that are liable for business rates and are the ratepayer) which serve food and can therefore remain open during these restrictions but see a disruption in their trade due to the restrictions put in place.
- Holiday/travel accommodation providers (B&Bs, Self-catered holiday cottages and Hotels) (that are liable for business rates and are the ratepayer) which are able to trade however will see a reduction in visitors as longer distance travel is discouraged to tier 2 and 3 areas.
- Leisure & sport businesses (e.g. leisure centres and gyms, swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, golf courses, fitness and dance studios, climbing walls, archery, driving, and shooting ranges) (that occupy rateable premises and are the ratepayer) which are able to trade but will see a disruption in their trade due to the restrictions put in place.
We are identifying businesses that we have determined meet the eligibility for LRSG Open and will be in contact with them directly in order to ensure that we are able to target the right businesses for this fund quickly.
If you fall in this priority A category and have not heard from us or received an LRSG Open grant already, but have received your LRSG Closed payment for November, please email us at [email protected] with your name, business name, and NNDR number quoted in the email.
Priority B
Once we are satisfied that we can support all the above businesses which apply in Carlisle, we will then aim to support the following:
- B&Bs/holiday lets that pay council tax instead of business rates
- Business which operate in a shared space where they are not the ratepayer.
- Events sector businesses, who have seen an impacted to their trade due to the tier 2 restrictions, for example limited wedding receptions
We will only be able to support such businesses if we are satisfied that we have the budget to after supporting the Priority A businesses. We will provide an update on this in due course.
Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG)
To support businesses through the enhanced national England-wide restrictions to help reduce the spread of Coronavirus, the government announced a Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) for Local Authorities to distribute to local businesses.
The scheme closed to new applications on Friday 5 February at 3pm, however applicants who apply before this date will have time to submit bank statements and any other required.
We have a fixed budget to deliver the ARG. We have received an extremely high volume of applications and this budget has now been fully expended. There will no further payments from the ARG fund as no further government funding has been received.
Please note that this is not an application for the retail, hospitality and leisure top up grant of up to £9,000, or for the additional payment from the Local Restrictions Support Grant closed - please read the eligibility criteria for this grant carefully before applying.
EU Transition
A deal with the EU has been reached and businesses should take action to ensure that their business operations can run smoothly as new rules apply. Businesses should prioritise taking any actions as soon as possible in the new year.
The links below provide more information to support business:
- Use the Brexit checker tool for a personalised list of actions.
- Sign up here for business readiness bulletins to receive important updates for your business.
- If you move goods into, out of, or through Northern Ireland, check the latest Northern Ireland Protocol guidance here.
- For guidance on Rules of Origin see here.
- For details of the new arrangements for hiring workers from the EU see here.
- For travelling to Europe check here and for passports here.
- For Data Protection and Data Flows check here.
- UK Government information
- Cumbria Chamber of Commerce's Brexit Toolkit
- Cumbria LEP
Government guidance
Coronavirus (COVID-19) support is available to businesses:
For guidance and support visit this website.
Stay up to date with GOV.UK
Sign up to get emails when we add new coronavirus business support information
Funding support
For funding opportunities visit www.carlisle.gov.uk/funding
We are providing local businesses with free access to its local business support and grant portal provided by Open4Business. This is tailored for the Carlisle area and includes local, regional and national schemes. Business can also search for funding relevant to their size and sector. To use the portal, you will first need to register with Open4Business. Visit the portal here.
The government’s ‘support finder’ tool helps businesses and self-employed people across the UK to quickly and easily determine what financial support is available to them during the coronavirus pandemic. The link is here.
NHS Test and Trace
Venues such as pubs, restaurants, hair salons and cinemas are now required by law to record contact details of their customers, visitors and staff in the latest move to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The NHS COVID-19 app launched on Thursday 24 September in England and Wales, including QR check-in at venues.
Designated businesses and organisations, including hospitality, close contact services and leisure venues, will also be legally required to log details of customers, visitors and staff for NHS Test and Trace.
Businesses are now required to display official NHS QR code posters so customers who have downloaded the new NHS COVID-19 app can use their smartphones to easily check-in.
Businesses can download the QR codes here - to display as posters in premises.
Using the COVID-19 app, customers and visitors in England are now able to check-in on entry with their phone instead of filling out a check-in book or tool specific to a business. This will allow NHS Test and Trace to contact customers with public health advice should there be a COVID-19 outbreak.
Services included in the new legal requirements are:
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Hospitality, including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés.
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Tourism and leisure, including gyms, swimming pools, hotels, museums, cinemas, zoos and theme parks.
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Close contact services, including hairdressers *facilities provided by local authorities, including town halls and civic centres (for events), libraries and children’s centres.
For further details on the announcement please click here and for guidance on maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors to support NHS Test and Trace click here.
The government has also prepared a bank of resources. Click here to view these.
The full list of business settings is listed here.