Business support

LATEST NEWS 19 April 2021 – Support for businesses in Peterborough


Below are details of the current range of support available to Peterborough businesses, including important deadlines and how to apply for financial aid. We will endeavour to update this page as frequently as possible.

The Government announced a one-off grant from 1 April 2021 to provide support for non-essential retail, hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses.

This is designed to support businesses that offer in-person services, where the main service and activity takes place in a fixed rate-paying premises, to reopen safely as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

The funding is tiered for eligible businesses in the sectors listed below:

Non-essential retail

  • Premises with a rateable value of £15,000 or less will receive £2,667
  • Premises with a rateable value over £15,000 but less than £51,000 will receive £4,000
  • Premises with a rateable value of £51,000 or over will receive £6,000

Hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gyms

  • Premises with a rateable value of £15,000 or less will receive £8,000
  • Premises with a rateable value over £15,000 but less than £51,000 will receive £12,000
  • Premises with a rateable value of £51,000 or over will receive £18,000

Find out more about the scheme and eligibility.

To make a claim please go to Peterborough.GrantApproval.co.uk 

Please note: that you will need your property reference to make a claim. You can find this on your business rates bill or online at Gov.uk (referred to here as the local authority reference). This is 12 digits long and is not the same as your 9 digit account number.

These discretionary grants are available from Peterborough City Council for businesses with a rateable value above £51,000.

Further eligibility criteria are as follows:

  • Indoor soft-play or similar leisure businesses
  • Businesses not on the business rates list if they can demonstrate a significant Covid-19 impact
  • The leisure and hospitality supply chain
  • Any business who can demonstrate a significant fall in turnover as a result of Covid-19
  • Day nurseries
  • Beauty, performing arts and crafts sector
  • Businesses requiring rent support
  • Independents, freelancers and business in the ‘live events’ sector

Businesses that will not be eligible for consideration of an Additional Restrictions Grant are listed below:

  • Businesses that have already received grant payments that equal the maximum levels of State Aid permitted
  • Businesses that are in administration, insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made
  • Payments from the ARG fund cannot be paid to offset existing or future business rate liabilities
  • Local Authorities cannot use ARG to replace lost revenue on car parking (or to fund lost revenue itself)
  • Business not trading before restrictions came into force (in Peterborough 04/11/2020)
  • Car parks
  • Properties used for personal use

The level of grant available will be proportionate to the rateable value of the business property, or, where a rateable value does not exist, the size of the business applying.

  • For properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under or Micro Businesses with no rateable value – £6,670 grant
  • For properties with a rateable value between £15,001 – £50,999 or Small Businesses with no rateable value – £10,000 grant
  • For properties with a rateable value of £51,000 or over or Medium Businesses with no rateable value – £15,000 grant

Sole traders, self-employed applicants and those businesses operating from domestic properties will be treated as ‘Micro’ business and their grant level will be capped at the lesser of their fixed business costs or the available grant for that threshold. Costs will be measured at 5/12 of the annual figures stated on their last annual accounts.

Full details can be found in the ARG Policy document on the Council’s website.

Apply for the grant via the Peterborough City Council website.

Grants worth up to £4,714 are available to businesses with premises that were required by law to close during nation restrictions that were applied from 5 January 2021. These latest grants relate the period of closure from 16 February to 31 March 2021.

See a full list of businesses required to close.

The grant is payable to the ratepayer of a property shown on the local rating list. The value of payment available is dependent on the rateable value of the property, the thresholds are as shown below:

Local Restrictions Grant Funding:

  • Properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or less will receive £2,096
  • Properties with a rateable value over £15,000 but less than £51,000 will receive £3,143
  • Properties with a rateable value of £51,000 or over will receive £4,714

Grants are not available to businesses:

  • That were able to continue to trade because they do not depend on providing direct, in-person services from the premises and can operate their services effectively remotely (e.g. accountants and solicitors are excluded from this grant scheme)
  • Who chose to close but were not instructed to
  • That are in administration, insolvent or are subject to a striking-off notice

How to apply

Please note: if your business was previously paid a grant as the premises was required to close during the first part of the third national lockdown (5 January 2021 to 15 February 2021 inclusive), you do not need to complete an application form as Peterborough City Council already has your details to make a further payment to you under the new measures. These payments will be automatically paid to you.

Apply for Local Restrictions Grant Funding

The scheme has been extended to 30 September 2021. The Government grant will cover 80% of employee wages (up to a maximum of £2,500 per month) for periods ending on or before 30 June 2021. Employers are not required by law to top up wages for hours not worked during this period, but will still need to pay employer National Insurance contributions and pension costs. Employers can choose to top up their employees’ wages above the 80% total at their own expense.

From 1 July 2021, the level of grant will be reduced and employers will be asked to contribute towards the cost of furloughed employees’ wages.

You can:

  • Fully furlough employees, meaning they cannot work for you at all.
  • Flexibly furlough employees, meaning they can work for any amount of time in any work pattern, but cannot work for you during the hours they are recorded as being on furlough.

Information on which employees you are allowed to furlough, how much you can claim and how to claim can be found on the Government website.

Changes from 1 July 2021

The Government will no longer cover 80% of wages from July to September 2021. The following contributions will be made by the Goverment towards wages for hours not worked:

  • July – 70% up to £2,187.50
  • August – 60% up to £1,875
  • September – 60% up to £1,875

Employers must cover the following costs during these months:

  • July – 10% up to £312.50
  • August – 20% up to £625
  • September – 20% up to £625

Business rates relief has been extended until 30 June 2021.

Hospitality businesses, gyms and other non-essential retail businesses have seen the year-long business rate exemption extended for a further three months.

After June business rates will be discounted to a third of the normal charge for the remainder of the financial year.

The VAT discount to 5% for food and drink sold in pubs, restaurants and hospitality businesses will last until the end of September 2021. After that it will increase to 12.5% – which is still below the normal rate of 20% – for a further six months.

A “one-off” grant of £300 (under Peterborough Council’s Additional Restrictions Grant Fund) is now available for taxi drivers who have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. To qualify for this payment, you must meet the following criteria.

  • Hold a current taxi driver licence with Peterborough City Council
  • Have been operating on 4 November 2020 as a taxi driver, and held a taxi licence at that date
  • Live within the Peterborough City Council area

How to apply

To apply, please complete the online form. You will need to provide:

  • Your bank details for payment to be made to
  • Your DVLA registered driving licence number
  • Your Peterborough taxi licence number

Apply for Taxi Grant