Covid-19 funding

This article is an update on the various Covid-19 funding support available for individuals, educational institutions and nurseries, businesses and charities.

Covid-19 funding for individuals

Self-employment income support scheme

You are eligible to claim a grant if you are self-employed or a member of a partnership. The scheme allowed people to claim a first taxable grant. It has been opened and closed three times during the pandemic.

Details about the fourth grant will be announced on 3 March 2021. Details can be found here. You may also be eligible for deferring self-assessment payment on account of Coronavirus for the 2019-2020 tax year.

Covid-19 funding and support for individuals

Complete this website form to find support if you feel unsafe where you live, need to support to pay bills, get food, worry you are going to be made redundant etc.

Covid-19 funding for victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse

In May 2020 the government pledged £76 million to helping the most vulnerable in society. The funds have been allocated as follows:

  • The Ministry of Justice allocated £25 million to support local charities across England and Wales which support victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence, and £3 million to recruit more Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs);
  • To date, over £22 million of that has been distributed for over 500 charities in England and Wales, £19.5 million to Police and Crime Commissioners and £2.6 million via the Rape Support Fund; and
  • The remainder of the funds will be distributed in due course.

For more information please see the government website page here.

Covid-19 funding for education and childcare

Funding for schools during Coronavirus

Schools will continue to receive their core funding allocations as determined by the local authority for maintained schools and throughout the general annual grant (GAG) for academies for the 2020-21 financial year – April 2020 to March 2021 for maintained schools and until August 2021 for academies and non-maintained special schools. This will happen regardless of any periods of partial or complete closure.

More information is available here.

For costs not relating to the summer holidays that are not covered by the Covid-19 Summer Food Fund, schools will be able to claim for this in the autumn.

To submit a query regarding funding, please see this link.

Early Years Childcare

On 17 March 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed the government would continue to pay local authorities for free early years entitlement places for 2, 3 and 4 year olds. On 20th July it was announced that this would continue throughout the autumn.

They will continue to fund childcare at the level they would have done before Coronavirus.

For the 2021 Spring term, the government expects local authorities’ funding to providers to return to the normal approach: funding following the child, from all providers from 1st January 2021.

Temporary changes have been made to those eligible for the 30 hours free early education:

  • If you are working under the minimum income threshold as a direct result of Coronavirus you will be treated as meeting the threshold for the thirty hours until 31 October; and
  • If you are now working over the maximum threshold (£100,000) due to Coronavirus you will still receive up to 30 hours. The new upper threshold has been increased to £150,000 and will be effective until the end of this tax year.

Nurseries and private early years

Nurseries that receive small business rate relief or rural rate relief will be given a small business grant funding of £10,000.

The government has published information on the use of free early education entitlements funding during the pandemic and on early years and childcare closures.

Private early years and childcare settings and nurseries that are eligible for a charitable status relief will not be charged business rates in 2020 – 2021.

Covid-19 ITT Course extensions funding manual: 2019 to 2020 academic year

This provides course extension funding for trainee teachers whose courses have been affected by the pandemic. Arrangements set out that trainees making adequate progress towards their teachers’ standards and who continue to participate in their initial teacher-training course should be recommended for QTS, thus allowing them to join the workforce as NQT’s in autumn 2020.

Those who did not make adequate progress should be provided with the ability to continue their training over the autumn term then concluding by December 2020.

Funding is available to support trainees, their ITT provider and employing schools.

Covid-19 funding for businesses

Financial Support for your business

Use this business support finder to see what support is available for you and your business.

You might be eligible for:

Businesses affected by Coronavirus restrictions

The Local Restrictions Support Grants (LRSG (Closed) Addendum) support businesses that have been required to close due to the national restrictions. You can check if your business is eligible for a Coronavirus grant here.

Covid-19 funding grants:

  • The Closed Businesses Lockdown Payment (CBLP) supports businesses that have been required to close due to the national restrictions beginning 5 January 2021;
  • The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) supports businesses that are not covered by other grant schemes or where additional funding is needed;
  • The Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG (Open)) supports businesses that have been severely impacted due to temporary local restrictions; and
  • The Local Restrictions Support Grants (LRSG (Closed) and LRSG (Closed) Addendum: Tier 4) support businesses that have been required to close due to temporary local restrictions. More information is available here.

Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses

Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure industries can apply for business rates relief due to Coronavirus. In additional, you will not have to pay business rates for the 2020 to 2021 tax year. You don’t have to take action, the local council will apply the discount for you. More information is available here.

Entertainment businesses

If you own or run a nightclub, dance hall or adult entertainment business, you may be eligible for a Coronavirus grant due to national restrictions. Find out here.

Coronavirus Support from Business Representative Organisations and Trade Associations

You can find out more about specific sector support here.

Small Business Leadership Programme

The small business leadership programme supports senior leaders to enhance their business’s resilience and recovery from the impact of Coronavirus.

£500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme

This scheme is designed to help domestic film and TV productions which are struggling to get Coronavirus related insurance which they need to get back up and running. More information is available here.

Covid-19 funding for charities, community groups and arts/heritage institutions

National Lottery Funding

Cultural, arts and heritage institutions

The government has invested £1.57 billion in protecting the future of Britain’s cultural, arts and heritage institutions with emergency grants and loans.

Funding will also be provided to restart construction work at cultural and heritage sites paused as a result of the pandemic.

  • £1.15 billion support pot for cultural organisations in England delivered through a mix of grants and loans. This will be made up of £270 million of repayable finance and £880 million grants;
  • £100 million of targeted support for the national cultural institutions in England and the English Heritage Trust;
  • £120 million capital investment to restart construction on cultural infrastructure and for heritage construction projects in England which was paused due to the Coronavirus pandemic; and
  • The new funding will also mean an extra £188 million for the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland (£33 million), Scotland (£97 million) and Wales (£59 million).

The Culture Recovery Board will be headed by Sir Damon Buffini to help administer the programme.

Homelessness response fund

£6 million of emergency funding to provide relief for frontline homelessness charitable organisations which are directly affected by the Coronavirus outbreak.

Eligibility requirements:

  • The grants are open to registered charities, Charitable Incorporated Organisations, Community Benefit Societies and Community Interest Companies (with an asset lock) in England working to support those rough sleeping or experiencing homelessness through the Covid-19 crisis;
  • Your organisation must be small to medium sized (up to £5 million annual turnover) that currently works directly with people experiencing homelessness and where more than 50% of beneficiaries are people experiencing homelessness; and
  • Grants are available to alleviate the financial impact of Covid-19 and to provide new or adapted services to homeless people affected.

Details on the government’s homelessness response fund can be found here.

Covid-19 funding for charities

There is a £750 million package for frontline charities across the UK – including hospices and those supporting domestic abuse victims, distributed as follows:

  • £360 million direct from government departments;
  • £370 million for smaller charities, including through a grant to the National Lottery Community Fund;
  • Government to match donations to the National Emergencies Trust as part of the BBC’s Big Night In fundraiser – pledging a minimum of £20 million

More information on charity funding is available here.

Zoos and aquariums animal fund

There is an animal welfare grant of up to £730,000 for a zoo or aquarium affected by Covid-19. Applications are assessed by DEFRA on a first come first served basis.

For the latest Covid-19 legal news and updates, please visit our Covid-19 Insights Hub.