The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed £1 billion in Government support for businesses most impacted by the new Omicron Covid-19 variant across the UK.
Businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in England will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises, plus more than £100 million discretionary funding will be made available for local authorities to support other businesses
Government will also cover the cost of Statutory Sick Pay for Covid-related absences for small and medium-sized employers across the UK
£30 million further funding will be made available through the Culture Recovery Fund, enabling more cultural organisations in England to apply for support during the winter
St Austell and Newquay’s Member of Parliament Steve Double has been making the case for more funding for affected businesses in Cornwall. He said:
“I have been in correspondence with many local businesses who are concerned about the current situation and a drop in trade driven by people expressing more caution in the run up to Christmas with the rise of the Omicron variant, and have been feeding this back to the Government.”
“I am pleased to see the Government listen and release funding in the form of grants to the hospitality and leisure industry, as well as more Additional Restrictions Grant funding for other affected businesses. This goes along with more Cultural Recovery Fund money and the reintroduction of the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme.”
“I will continue to closely follow the situation and report back on the experience of businesses in Cornwall. In the meantime, the way our of this situation is through the vaccination programme and I urge everyone to get their booster jab as soon as possible.”