The Charity Tax Fund has released the information below on the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund.

In response to COVID-19, the Government announced there would be support for small businesses, and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, delivered through the Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund.

Concerned that many smaller charities were missing out, the Charity Tax Group prepared a briefing for officials at BEIS, MHCLG and HM Treasury proposing that the eligibility criteria for the Small Business Grants Fund be amended to allow charities to make a claim where they would be have been eligible to claim for Small Business Rates Relief, had they not claimed mandatory charity business rates relief. The briefing was prepared with the support of sector partners including Small Charities Coalition, NAVCA, CFG and NCVO.

On 2 May, the Government announced that an additional £617 million of grant funding will be made available for distribution by Local Authorities. This additional fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs. Local Authorities are being asked to prioritise businesses in shared spaces, regular market traders, small charity properties that would meet the criteria for Small Business Rates Relief, and bed and breakfasts that pay council tax rather than business rates.

Asked for comment by the press, CTG Chairman John Hemming said: “Small charities have expressed frustration that the £10k Small Business Grant Fund is only open to organisations claiming Small Business Rates Relief and not those claiming mandatory charity rates relief. This is despite the fact that many small charities have properties of an equivalent size and have been equally affected by the COVID-19 shutdown and the associated loss of income. CTG, working with sector partners, proposed a tweak to the current rules to allow small charities to claim the grant. With current allocation of the grant funds lower than anticipated by Government, we argued that this pragmatic step could deliver urgent financial stimulus to small charities, at no extra cost to the Exchequer. The announcement that charity properties can be eligible for this additional grant fund is very welcome. While this funding is at the discretion of local authorities, this is a positive announcement for small charities that should ensure some are able to access funding that has unattainable to date. Charities are encouraged to look out for application forms being published by their Local Authorities and to contact them to demonstrate their need for this funding”.

Information on the eligibility criteria for the Small Business Rates Relief can be found here. Broadly speaking, it is open to organisations with a primary property with a rateable value <£15k – additional eligibility rules apply if multiple properties are owned. You can check the ‘rateable value’ of your property here.

Guidance has now been published for local authorities.

Visit Salford's business rates relief and grants page here.