UK govt unveils new £4.6bn Covid relief package after latest lockdown

The UK government has unveiled a new £4.6bn package of Covid-19 relief measures to help businesses get through the latest national lockdown announced on Monday night.

Firms in the retail, hospitality and leisure businesses one-off grants worth up to £9,000 each, the Treasury said in a statement after a rising tide of new coronavirus cases forced the third national lockdown until mid-February at the earliest.

There is also a £594m discretionary fund to support other impacted businesses not eligible for the grants that might be affected by the latest restrictions.

Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said the measures were designed to help firms get through the Spring period.

The cash is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4b in total across all nations of the UK.

A further £594 million is also being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations. Businesses should apply to their Local Authorities.

The one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows:

· £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under

· £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000

· £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000

Business support is a devolved policy and therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations, the Treasury said. Scotland will receive £375m, Wales £227m and the Northern Ireland Executive £127m.