Be persistent and push for ARG Grants

If you are a business and don’t have a fixed premises, the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) is the grant you should apply for via your Local Authority (council) in England.

As they are discretionary, they will vary from council to council so they may not appear to be as straight forward as the Local Restriction Grants.

Applicants will need to explain within their ARG application how their business has been “severely affected”.  For example, a business that usually supplies most of its products or services to a sector which has been in lockdown since March 2020, should be able to justify a loss of income and would be eligible for consideration. 

You may have to sign up to your council’s business network newsletter and check their social media accounts as they often post grant openings via social media as well as on their websites.

Some Local Authority websites are difficult to navigate but they should clearly signpost Coronavirus support on their homepage and should all have a search bar function.  

As well as contacting your Local Authority, you can also contact your local LEP (local enterprise partnership) for information as they will work with your Local Authority – There is a useful map to help you locate your LEP here  

What to bear in mind:

1. All local authorities are different and the process will differ depending on your area.

2. If you have already received a grant then your council may have a system by which they will contact you, however, every local authority is different, and this may not be the case.

3. If you have not applied for an LRG or ARG grant already then you should do so (LRG grants are for businesses that have rateable properties, ARG grants are for those that do not)

4. Some caterers have had success, others inexplicably haven’t (even in the same local authorities), local authorities have different forms / requirements, so please familiarise yourself with what your council are asking for and require. Be vigilant and keep checking your local authority website for updates.

5. Grants are differing per LA in terms of speed of delivery and amount so please keep checking your local authority website for updates.

6. Please let us know if you have put a grant application and have been successful or not so that we can continue to feedback to Government on support for our sector.

Finally, keep on applying for ARG grants. It’s unfortunate, but all local councils are different and there is no set UK wide application process. Be prepared to chase in order to be successful!

For more information, click here. Need to chat through what funding is available for your business? Call us on 0300 124 6866.

Stay up-to-date on all of the latest financial measures for your business via our Coronavirus Hub.