We are asking businesses to check if they qualify for the latest round of Government COVID-19 business grants and if they are eligible to submit applications.

If your business had to close in November as part of national restrictions you may be eligible for support.

If your business did not have to close, but you were still significantly affected by the November restrictions or the current Tier 2 restrictions, you can apply for the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG).

Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Darren Cowell, said: “The latest grant scheme fundamentally differs as businesses qualify for different levels of support, which is paid from different grants based on the length of time they have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. I would urge all local businesses to check the criteria to see if they are eligible and, if appropriate, submit an application.”

Local Restriction Grant (If your business had to close)

To be eligible for the Local Restriction Grant, your business must:

• Occupy and be liable for business rates on a property that appeared in the Local Rating list on 4 November 2020
• Have been trading on 4 November 2020
• Have been open as usual on 4 November, and providing in-person services to customers from their premises
• Ordered to close from 5 November to visiting members of the public for a consecutive period of no less than 28 days as a result of the November National lockdown.

Applying for the grant is quick and easy from our financial support for businesses page.

Before you apply, make sure you have the following:

• Your business rates account number
• A full bank statement, which shows your business or correspondence address and your account details. We'll also need to be able to see evidence of trading on your bank statements, such as credits and debits.
• A unique identifier, which can be any of the following:
  
  • Company Reference Number (CRN)
  • VAT Registration Number,
  • Self-Assessment/Partnership Number,
  • National Insurance Number,
  • Unique Taxpayer Reference,
  • Registered Charity Number

Additional Restrictions Grant (If your business didn’t have to close)

If your business did not have to close, but you were still significantly affected by the November restrictions or the current Tier 2 restrictions, you can apply for the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG).

The ARG is designed to support businesses whose trade has been affected by the current restrictions. This includes:

• Businesses which have been required to close but that do not have a business rates account
• Businesses which supply the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors
• Businesses which were severely impacted by the current national restrictions

Apply for the ARG. Please make sure you read the information carefully to make sure you qualify. Remember it's more important to get the information in accurately than quickly!

To submit your application, you will need to have the following to hand:

• Your business rates account number, if you have one
• A unique identifier number - this could be a Company Registration number, a Unique Tax Reference Number, Charity number, VAT number or National Insurance number
• Bank statements from September, October and November 2020. These must show evidence of trading (as in credits and debits on the account) for the period before the November National lockdown was introduced. They must show the name of the applicant or business name, and match the sort code and account number on the form. They must also show an address that matches the correspondence address entered.
• Evidence of a drop in your trade - you can enter a description of your situation and link it to any documents you upload
• Your net income for November in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and your pre-COVID average yearly turnover
• Your fixed business costs for November
• Details of any other funding you have received

Further information on COVID-19 in Torbay.