Kemi Badenoch corrected a written answer on Small Businesses: Coronavirus

19 May 2020 · Commons written answer · Treasury

Caroline Lucas (Green Party, Brighton, Pavilion) asked written question 40554 on 27 April 2020. Kemi Badenoch answered on 4 May 2020 for the Treasury, and Kemi Badenoch corrected the answer on 19 May 2020. The correction replaced 2 figures (116,000, 299,000) with 2 figures (205,000, 83,000). Altogether 27 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are excluded from the Small Business Grants Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund because those SMEs have a rateable value of more than £51,000; and whether it is the Government’s policy that not all SMEs are eligible to access financial support made available in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
According to the ~~VOA,~~ there are ~~299,000~~ business properties in England with a rateable value over ~~£51,000.~~ Of these, ~~116,000~~ are retail, hospitality and leisure ~~properties.~~ The Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund have been designed to support the smallest businesses, and smaller businesses in the some of the sectors which have been hit hardest by measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Around 1 million small and medium businesses will receive cash grants as a result of these schemes, and over £12 billion will be paid out to these businesses. The two schemes have been tied to the business rates system and rating assessments, which together provide a framework for Local Authorities to make payments as quickly as possible. Businesses in the business rates system are also likely to face particularly high fixed costs, such as fixed rents. In addition to the main grants schemes, Government has made available up to an additional £617m for Local Authorities in England to enable them to pay grants to small businesses which also face high fixed building-related costs but which are excluded from the current system due to the way they fit into the business rates system. Businesses which are not eligible for the grants schemes should be able to benefit from other measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including: An option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months; The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit; The Bounce Back Loan scheme, which will ensure that small and micro businesses can quickly access loans of up to £50,000 which are 100% guaranteed by the Government; The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage bills; and The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-employed.	According to the VOA official statistics, there are around 205,000 business properties in England with a rateable value over £51,000 as at 31 March 2019. . Of these, approximately 83,000 are identified as retail, hospitality and leisure properties using VOA's administrative data source. The Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund have been designed to support the smallest businesses, and smaller businesses in the some of the sectors which have been hit hardest by measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Around 1 million small and medium businesses will receive cash grants as a result of these schemes, and over £12 billion will be paid out to these businesses. The two schemes have been tied to the business rates system and rating assessments, which together provide a framework for Local Authorities to make payments as quickly as possible. Businesses in the business rates system are also likely to face particularly high fixed costs, such as fixed rents. In addition to the main grants schemes, Government has made available up to an additional £617m for Local Authorities in England to enable them to pay grants to small businesses which also face high fixed building-related costs but which are excluded from the current system due to the way they fit into the business rates system. Businesses which are not eligible for the grants schemes should be able to benefit from other measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including: An option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months; The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit; The Bounce Back Loan scheme, which will ensure that small and micro businesses can quickly access loans of up to £50,000 which are 100% guaranteed by the Government; The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage bills; and The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-employed.

Original

Corrected

According to the ~~VOA,~~ there are ~~299,000~~ business properties in England with a rateable value over ~~£51,000.~~ Of these, ~~116,000~~ are retail, hospitality and leisure ~~properties.~~
The Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund have been designed to support the smallest businesses, and smaller businesses in the some of the sectors which have been hit hardest by measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Around 1 million small and medium businesses will receive cash grants as a result of these schemes, and over £12 billion will be paid out to these businesses.
The two schemes have been tied to the business rates system and rating assessments, which together provide a framework for Local Authorities to make payments as quickly as possible. Businesses in the business rates system are also likely to face particularly high fixed costs, such as fixed rents.
In addition to the main grants schemes, Government has made available up to an additional £617m for Local Authorities in England to enable them to pay grants to small businesses which also face high fixed building-related costs but which are excluded from the current system due to the way they fit into the business rates system.
Businesses which are not eligible for the grants schemes should be able to benefit from other measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including:
An option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months;
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit;
The Bounce Back Loan scheme, which will ensure that small and micro businesses can quickly access loans of up to £50,000 which are 100% guaranteed by the Government;
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage bills; and
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-employed.

According to the VOA official statistics, there are around 205,000 business properties in England with a rateable value over £51,000 as at 31 March 2019. . Of these, approximately 83,000 are identified as retail, hospitality and leisure properties using VOA's administrative data source.
The Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund have been designed to support the smallest businesses, and smaller businesses in the some of the sectors which have been hit hardest by measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Around 1 million small and medium businesses will receive cash grants as a result of these schemes, and over £12 billion will be paid out to these businesses.
The two schemes have been tied to the business rates system and rating assessments, which together provide a framework for Local Authorities to make payments as quickly as possible. Businesses in the business rates system are also likely to face particularly high fixed costs, such as fixed rents.
In addition to the main grants schemes, Government has made available up to an additional £617m for Local Authorities in England to enable them to pay grants to small businesses which also face high fixed building-related costs but which are excluded from the current system due to the way they fit into the business rates system.
Businesses which are not eligible for the grants schemes should be able to benefit from other measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including:
An option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months;
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit;
The Bounce Back Loan scheme, which will ensure that small and micro businesses can quickly access loans of up to £50,000 which are 100% guaranteed by the Government;
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage bills; and
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-employed.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1190607?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`038c8d67322e8d9243f2d7c647d6becb91b91859be16a259479655b730f007a8`