Local Authority Discretionary Grant

Fund Guidance

Kirklees Council Scheme – June 2020

June 2020 – V1

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Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3
About this guidance .............................................................................................................. 3
Completing the form ............................................................................................................. 3
Am I eligible to apply? ........................................................................................................... 4
How much can I get? ............................................................................................................. 5
What costs am I able to claim for? ........................................................................................ 6
Will I need to provide evidence of my ongoing property costs?............................................. 6
Will I need to provide evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on my business? ........................ 7
Available funding .................................................................................................................. 7
State Aid ............................................................................................................................... 7
What happens next? ............................................................................................................. 8
Right of appeal ...................................................................................................................... 8

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Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund
Guidance – Kirklees Council Scheme

Introduction

1. The new Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund has been launched to help small
businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs that are not eligible for other
Government grant schemes, including the Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail,
Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund. These other grant schemes are still open and you
can apply for them here.

About this guidance

2. This document has been prepared with reference to the guidance provided to Local
Authorities by HM Government. It is intended to support businesses in applying to the
Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund in Kirklees and applies to Kirklees only.

3. The Council reserves the right to vary the eligibility criteria and exclusions applying to
the grant to reflect changes in Government guidance and other relevant information. In
the event that any changes are made to the scheme these will be advertised on the
Council website as soon as practicable.

Completing the form

4. In order to allow a payment to be made to your business, and in accordance with the
guidance issued by government, all sections of the form must be completed with the
relevant information. Failure to provide all of the information requested may invalidate
your application or cause a delay in processing it.

5. By completing the application, you confirm that the information you are providing is
true and accurate.

6. Kirklees Council will not accept deliberate manipulation and fraud - and any business
caught falsifying their records to gain grant money will face prosecution and any funding
issued will be subject to claw back. The council is also entitled to recover any grants paid
in error.

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Am I eligible to apply?

7. In accordance with Government guidance, this fund is available to following types of

businesses:

• Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces which do not have
their own business rates assessment;

• Regular market traders with fixed property costs, such as rent, who do not have
their own business rates assessment;

• Bed & Breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rates;

• Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would

otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

8. Government guidance further states that to apply for the fund your business should:

• Be a Small and micro-business as defined in Section 33 Part 2 of the Small

Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 and the Companies Act 2006
• Have relatively high, ongoing fixed property-related costs
• Be able to demonstrate that it has suffered a significant fall in income due to the
Covid-19 crisis
• Demonstrate that it was trading on 11th March 2020
• Occupy property, or part of a property, with a rateable value or annual rent or
annual mortgage payments below £51,000; for the avoidance of doubt, this does
not exclude businesses in shared workspaces where the landlord pays the
business rates and where the rateable value of the entire premises exceeds
£51,000.

9. To be a small business, under the Companies Act 2006, a business must satisfy two or
more of the following requirements in a year:

• Turnover: Not more than £10.2 million

• Balance sheet total: Not more than 5.1 million
• Number of employees: a headcount of staff of less than 50

10. To be a micro business, under the Companies Act 2006, a business must satisfy two or
more of the following requirements in a year:

• Turnover: Not more than £632,000

• Balance sheet total: Not more than £316,000
• Number of employees: a headcount of staff of not more than 10

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11. Businesses who have applied for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and Self-
Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) are eligible to apply for this scheme.

12. The following exclusions apply, as set out in the Government guidance. If you fall in any
of these categories, you are not eligible under this scheme:

• Businesses which are eligible for existing Government COVID-19 related grant
schemes. Such grant schemes include but are not limited to:
▪ Small Business Grant Fund
▪ Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant
▪ The Fisheries Response Fund
▪ Domestic Seafood Supply Scheme (DSSS)
▪ The Zoos Support Fund
▪ The Dairy Hardship Fund

• Companies that are in administration, are insolvent or where a striking-off notice

has been made.

13. In addition, the Council has identified the following exclusions that will apply to the
Kirklees scheme:

• Market traders operating on the basis of ‘daily licenses’

• Providers of private-rented housing or self-catering accommodation that are not
registered companies and/or which do not provide a catered bed and breakfast
service to their clients

14. Businesses are only eligible to receive one grant through the scheme.

How much can I get?

15. Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces which do not have their
own business rates assessment will receive up to 6 month’s actual/forecast property
costs, capped at £10,000 per applicant

16. Regular market traders with fixed building costs, that do not have their own business
rates assessment will receive up to 6 month’s actual/forecast property costs, capped at
£2,500 per applicant

17. Bed and breakfasts which pay council tax instead of business rates will receive up to 6
months actual/forecast property costs, capped at £3,000 per applicant

18. Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise
have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief will receive up to 6
months actual/forecast property costs, capped at £10,000 per applicant.

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What costs am I able to claim for?

19. Applicants are able to claim the following fixed property costs:

• Rent/lease/licence payments for your business premises

• Mortgage payment (for bed and breakfast properties only)
• Service charges
• Energy/utilities bill, including electricity/gas/telephone/internet charges
• Any combination of some or all of the above cost items where they are included
in a single regular payment to your landlord or another third party.

Will I need to provide evidence of my ongoing property costs?

20. Please provide full details of any ongoing fixed property costs (see ‘What costs am I able
to claim for’) covering the period from 1 March 2020 to 31 August 2020 inclusive. You
should provide supporting evidence of actual cost incurred from 1 March 2020 to 31
May 2020. This should include, but not be limited to:

• A signed lease, licence, rental or mortgage agreement;

• Invoice/bill showing costs relating to any separate service charge, business rates
contribution, energy/utilities bill, including electricity/gas/telephone/internet
charges incurred during the qualifying period

• Business bank account statements showing proof of payment relating to the

above costs covering the period 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020.

21. The evidence should clearly set out whether the costs are incurred monthly, quarterly or
on a one-off basis.

22. You should also provide a projection of any forecast fixed property related costs you
expect to incur for the next 3 month period 1 June 2020 to 31 August 2020 providing any
additional evidence where this is not already covered within the evidence relating to the
period to 31 May 2020.

23. The information provided will be used to determine the level of grant paid out.

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Will I need to provide evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on my
business?

24. To be eligible to receive this Fund, businesses must demonstrate that they have suffered
a significant fall in income due to the COVID-19 crisis.

25. For the purposes of the Kirklees scheme ‘a significant fall in income’ means a reduction
in turnover of at least 25% during the period 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020 when
compared to the same trading period the previous year and/or your average quarterly
turnover for the 2019/20 financial year. If this is a new business formed after April 2019,
please provide trading information by month or quarter to date.

26. You should provide evidence of any loss of income. This might include details of physical
business closure, loss of regular business income, reduced sales activity or order
volumes. This should include but not be limited to:

• Your most recent set of full certified accounts. These must show all trading
information. Please do not provide abbreviated accounts.
• Management accounts/information demonstrating revenue income and
expenses in the period 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020 (with comparison to the
equivalent period in 2019). If this is a new business formed after April 2019,
please provide trading information by month or quarter to date.

Available funding

27. The Government has made available a total of £5.244m to Kirklees Council to fund the
Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund. No additional funding will be made available
by the Council or other parties to support the scheme.

28. The Council has identified a closing date of midnight on Monday 22nd June for
applications. The Council reserves the right to amend the closing date and will publish
any changes on its website.

State Aid

29. The grant will be deemed as State Aid to your business. Most awards will be made under
the 'de minimis' regulations. You will be required to sign a state aid declaration as part
of the application process confirming you are eligible to receive the funding.

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What happens next?

30. Eligible businesses who apply for the grant will receive confirmation that we have
received the application. Our team will review the application and supporting evidence
to determine eligibility and award value. Should we require additional information we
will contact you to request the relevant information. This may result in a delay to you
receiving a decision and any funding.

31. Where there is no requirement for additional evidence, we aim to notify you of the
decision within 10 working days. Where the application is successful, payment will then
be made by bank transfer, usually within 3 working days of the decision being made.

32. We may also use the information you provide to undertake credit or identity checks.

Right of appeal

33. In the event that your application is refused for reasons other than the availability of
funding, you may appeal.

34. The Council will notify you of the reasons for the refusal of your application. If you wish
to appeal you should provide a short written statement setting out the reasons that the
Council should approve your application and provide any additional evidence that would
substantiate your claim.