Businesses in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors across Bath and North East Somerset that have been impacted by the Omicron variant of coronavirus can now claim support grants.
Any existing business-rated business that has already been assessed and received a grant in the past and is now entitled to the new Omicron Grant (Hospitality and Leisure sectors) will receive an automated email asking to verify and update details and to complete a self-declaration.
These businesses will then receive an automated payment once the council has received the self-declaration and the payment has been processed.
From Monday next week, 24th January, new applications for the Omicron Grant (Hospitality and Leisure sectors) will open.
These applications will need to be assessed. A new application form will be updated here and will need to be completed. Applications close on Monday 28th February 2022.
The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) Discretionary Grant will open on Tuesday 1st February and also run until Monday 28th February.
A revised policy and criteria will be updated as soon as it has been finalised and published on the same link as the application form.
A new application will be required for all applications, and these will be assessed against the criteria in the policy.
Deputy council leader and cabinet member for resources, Councillor Richard Samuel, said: “We will assess all the applications against the criteria we have been set by the government and will work to process the grants as quickly as we can.
“However, Bath & North East Somerset’s £366,073 allocation of the £102 million Additional Restrictions Grant top-up will not be sufficient to support all businesses.
“Unfortunately, this may mean there could be some businesses who may be deemed as significantly impacted by the Omicron COVID-19 variant but will not receive a grant because they are not as severely impacted in comparison to other businesses which have applied.”
The purpose of an application window is to assess all applications at the same time and identify the businesses impacted the most and award grants accordingly to those impacted the most.
Businesses must have been trading on 30th December 2021 to be eligible to receive funding under the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme.
The eligibility criteria for the payment of the grants are determined by central government.
Businesses will only be eligible where their main service falls within hospitality, leisure, or accommodation sectors.
The amounts payable for the grants are based on the Rateable value of the Business as follows:
(Rateable value of business – grant amount)
- £0 to £15,000 – £2,667
- £15,001 to £51,000 – £4,000
- £51,001 and above – £6,000
