Oxford City Council has provided more than £40m to help Oxford’s businesses through the coronavirus pandemic.
The council has provided 7,278 grants to businesses in the city since the first national lockdown in March last year.
Alongside this, the council has also provided £58.25m in rate relief to businesses.
The grants and rates relief are funded by the government and administered in Oxford by the council.
Lockdown support grants
Businesses that have been mandated to close by the government – including those from non-essential retail, hospitality and leisure sectors – can currently apply for:
- one-off grants of up to £9,000 per property
- grants of up to £4,714 per six weeks of national lockdown and/or Tier 4
The grants cover the period Oxford was in Tier 4 (26 December to 4 January) and the current lockdown, which started on 5 January. The application deadline for grants covering the period from 26 December to 15 February is 31 March. For grants covering the period from 16 February onwards the application deadline is 31 May.
Businesses that have already applied for grants for the period before 16 February will have their applications extended automatically until the end of March.
Other grants are also still available to cover the period from 31 October to 25 December. However, these will also close on 31 March.
Discretionary grants
Businesses that do not qualify for the grants but have been severely impacted by the lockdown or Oxford being in Tier 4 are able to apply for discretionary grants of up to £2,000 per 28 days.
Discretionary grants are also available for home and mobile workers or businesses that legally require authorised licences or registrations to operate or trade. These include one-off payments of up to £540 for private hire and taxi drivers licensed by the council.
Businesses that have already applied for discretionary grants for the period before 16 February will have their applications extended automatically until the end of March.
Eligibility and applying for grants
For more information about the grants and loans available to businesses in Oxford, to check eligibility and to apply, please visit: www.oxford.gov.uk/businesssupport
Comment
Councillor Mary Clarkson, cabinet member for city centre, Covered Market and culture, said: “We’ve now paid 7,278 grants to support Oxford businesses during the pandemic and we continue to pay grants out every day.
“We want to support Oxford businesses as best we can and we have made it as easy as we can for them to apply for grants online. We’ll also be extending existing grants made for the period up to 16 February so that businesses automatically get their grants extended until the end of March.
“If you operate a business in Oxford that has had to close or has been severely impacted by the latest lockdown, please apply for the grants that are available.”
ENDS
For more information contact:
Oxford City Council
Press Office
01865 252096