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Overview of government grants | Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) 16 February to 31 March 2021 and Restart Grant (1 April 2021) | Birmingham City Council

Coronavirus (COVID-19):

Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance and advice

Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) 16 February to 31 March 2021 and Restart Grant (1 April 2021)

Overview of government grants

Last updated 10 May 2021

Local Restriction Grant Schemes (16 February 2021 to 31 March 2021) and Restart Grant Scheme (1 April 2021)

Restart grant scheme

The Restart Grant commenced on 1 April 2021, please see the restart grant scheme eligibility details.

Please do not complete another application for the Restart Grant if you have previously applied and or been awarded a Local Restrictions Grant. This may delay your payment.

If you have not previously applied, please complete a Restart Grant application for each individual property.

We have now processed payments for over 50% of eligible businesses however we continue to receive a high number of duplicate applications.

If you have not yet received a notification regarding a payment, it is probably because we need further information. The government has stated that local authorities must perform a series of company and bank account checks before an award can be paid.

This involves evidence of: 

  • A valid business bank account
  • An actively trading business

We also have to check:

  • The name of the registered Rate Payer
  • That the business meets the criteria

Week Commencing 10 May 2021

We will be contacting a number of businesses regarding the additional information which we need in order to make a decision.

Additional information checks:

The results of the verification provide us with details of missing information that is required, for example:

  • Company name does not match company registered
  • Bank account name does not match company name
  • Company is not registered (may be a sole trader)
  • Company is no longer trading
  • Query with bank account

No payment received yet.

Before contacting a business owner, we will attempt to validate the missing information ourselves. Where this is not possible, we will be contacting businesses by email, in order that the information can be directly uploaded to their application on their BRUM account.  

Please do not call us but continue to check this website and your BRUM account for ongoing updates

Grant payments

The following grants are available:

  • Business support package for January lockdown
  • Restart grant

In order to simplify the process for applicants, we will be using one application form which will include questions relevant to all grants. This information will then be used to determine what grant(s) businesses are eligible to receive.

Businesses will need to register for a BRUM account to apply for a grant, Create an online BRUM account if you don't already have one.

If you already have a BRUM account, you don’t need to register again or change it to your business address. You can still apply for a grant and as you go through the form it will capture your business address.

You can use either your personal email address or your business address.

The name of your business may not appear in the look up and so please use your postal address to search when creating a BRUM account.

When registering for a BRUM account, you will be sent an email to validate your email address and so remember to check your SPAM or Junk folders.

Benefits of a BRUM account

  • Having a BRUM account will enable us to link to any previous applications for the Small Business Grant and the Discretionary Grant schemes and will mean we can process the application quicker
  • You will be able to see and keep track of any grant payments made in your BRUM account
  • As part of this process, we will determine which grant(s) your business is eligible for
  • Any future grant entitlements, as a result of future restrictions, will also be administered through this process, so you only need to register once and apply once.
  • You will have access to your Business Rates account
  • You will be able to view and receive your bills online

Update to COVID-19 business grant subsidy allowance

The EU State aid rules no longer apply to subsidies granted in the UK following the end of the transition period, which ended on 31 December 2020.

BEIS Guidance for public authorities explaining the subsidies chapter of the TCA, World Trade Organisation rules on subsidies, and other international commitments can be found on the GOV.UK website.

On Thursday 4 March new subsidy allowances were established for the COVID-19 business grants schemes, on the basis of the principles set out in Article 3.4 of the TCA.

Subsidy allowance

This scheme is covered by 3 subsidy allowances:

  • Small Amounts of Financial Assistance Allowance, allowed up to £335,000 (subject to exchange rates) over any period of 3 years
  • COVID-19 Business Grant Allowance, allowed up to £1,600,000
  • COVID-19 Business Grant Special Allowance, if limits under the Small Amounts of Financial Assistance Allowance and COVID-19 Business Grant Allowance are reached, you may be able to access a further allowance of funding under these scheme rules of up to £9,000,000, provided certain conditions are met

Grants under these 3 allowances can be combined for a potential total allowance of up to £10,935,000 (subject to exchange rates).