Transparency data

COVID-19 Business Grants schemes: insights (minor updates to data, May 2023)

Updated 10 May 2023

These insights use self-reported data from local authorities. Although some quality assurance has been carried out, it has not been possible to carry out full verification of the data provided. The data are incomplete as not all local authorities have provided complete sets of data. This context should be considered when using the insights presented here.

1. Key learnings

These insights show:

• almost £27 billion was allocated through the COVID-19 Business Grants scheme to local authorities in England, which delivered over 4.5 million payments totalling £22.6 billion, to businesses impacted by the pandemic
• micro, small, and medium sized businesses received 94% of the funding by value, totalling £21.3 billion
• over one-third of all funding was given to the Accommodation and Food Services sector
  • within targeted schemes: the Accommodation and Food Services sector received the largest funding share at 41%; followed by Other Services at 17%; Wholesale and Retail Trade at 16%; and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation at 14%
  • discretionary schemes gave significant funding to over 10 different business sectors
• all regions reported a spend of between 80% and 89% of their total allocations; unspent funding is returned to the Treasury by way of scheme reconciliation

Please note: These insights cannot be used to draw conclusions on fraud or error within the schemes and they cannot be used to make judgements on the effectiveness of policy implementation.

2. Introduction

Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government put substantial financial support in place to protect as many businesses as possible from the effects of the legal requirements to close, and of the wider economic effects. The COVID-19 Business Grant schemes were a significant element of this business support offer, allocating almost £27 billion of funding to local authorities (LAs) in England, to support businesses in their communities through a variety of schemes.

90% of this funding was provided via targeted schemes, available to business sectors that had been required by law to close, including hospitality, leisure and retail, and those which had been severely affected by restrictions or guidance put in place. The remaining 10% of funding was provided via discretionary schemes extending the reach of support to additional business sectors impacted by the pandemic. As COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed, the Restart Grant scheme provided support to businesses as they reopened. In January 2022, in response to the Omicron variant, further funding, both targeted and discretionary, was provided. Full details of all schemes can be found in the Definitions section.

Funding allocations

Business eligibility criteria varied by scheme and is defined for each scheme in the guidance provided to LAs, available for earlier and later schemes. The allocation of funding to LAs used calculations that considered the number of likely eligible businesses, using data provided by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) that included business sectors and rateable values. Some schemes used LA population data or provided proportional uplifts to previous allocations. The guidance within the published data provides further information for each scheme.

From Autumn 2020, allocations for targeted schemes were reduced by 10% to avoid significant overpayments to LAs. On completion of scheme reconciliation, LAs were provided with additional funds where they had spent more than their indicative allocation, to fund eligible businesses within targeted schemes. Discretionary schemes allowed LAs to determine their own eligibility criteria and, as such, there were no additional funds provided upon reconciliation. Unspent funding from both types of scheme is returned to the Treasury.

Timeline

Figure 1: Timeline of grant schemes showing opening to closing dates, all schemes, England

Source: Scheme guidance for local authorities

The timeline in Figure 1 shows the opening and closing dates of all COVID-19 Business Grant schemes. Note that some schemes provided multiple instalments of payments throughout the time they were in operation, and that payments to LAs were usually within 2 weeks of the scheme opening date. Further details on all schemes are in the Definitions section.

The first allocation to LAs was provided in March 2020 via the targeted Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF) and Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) schemes, followed by the discretionary Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund (LADGF) scheme. These schemes are collectively known as ‘Cohort 1’ schemes.

‘Cohort 2’ schemes began in August 2020 with the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) (Open), followed in September 2020 by the LRSG (Closed), which included the sub schemes of the Closed Business Lockdown Payment (CBLP) and LRSG (Sectors) as the department adapted and extended schemes in the face of the unprecedented situation nationwide.

The discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme began in November 2020 and was the longest running scheme, with 3 subsequent top-up allocations provided, closing in March 2022. The Christmas Support Payment (CSP) ran over Christmas 2020 from December 2020 to March 2021. Following the lifting of restrictions, the Restart scheme ran from April to July 2021. The final scheme was the Omicron Hospitality & Leisure Grant (OHLG) scheme, which opened from January 2022 to March 2022.

Data collections

Following distribution of funding by LAs to businesses, LAs were asked to provide data on these payments.

For the first Cohort of grants, (SBGF and RHLGF, and LADGF: see Definitions section for details) these data contained only aggregate figures for the number and value of payments. Data for RHLGF and SBGF were collected together and are therefore presented jointly.

Beginning November 2020 for the subsequent schemes, in the second Cohort of grants, (LRSG (Open), LRSG (Closed), ARG, CSP, Restart and OHLG) LAs were asked to optionally provide more detailed monitoring and evaluation grant-level data as well as the aggregate figures. Details of the data fields collected in the grant-level data can be found in the Definitions section.

The response rate was 79% for the first Cohort of the grant-level data collection. BEIS worked on a new improved data collection system, which was rolled out in October 2021. For the final schemes initiated in January 2022, LAs were asked to provide grant-level data only as part of the mandatory monitoring processes for the schemes and engagement was 90%. The grant-level data contains detailed information on 3.2 million payments from the total 3.5 million (91%) reported at aggregate level for Cohort 2 schemes. For this reason, comparisons of monetary values between the aggregate and grant-level figures are not possible.

Aggregate figures for the schemes have been published by LA and by parliamentary constituency, throughout the course of the schemes. The insights presented here use these figures alongside the grant-level data which can now also be found at the link provided. All data are self-reported by LAs and although some quality assurance has been carried out, it has not been possible to fully verify all the data provided. The data are incomplete as not all local authorities have provided complete sets of data. This context should be considered when using the insights presented here.

3. Grant schemes overview

Payments to businesses

Figure 2: Total number and value of grants paid, all schemes, England

Source: LA grants published data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

The bar chart in Figure 2 shows the total number and value of payments as reported by LAs for each of the grant schemes. The RHLGF and SBGF schemes had the highest total reported payments value of £11.1 billion, paid out through over 900,000 payments, and provided the highest average grant payment of £12,300.

The LRSG (Closed) scheme had the largest number of reported payments, although the total reported payment value was lower than RHLGF and SBGF, at £5.1 billion.

The CSP was the smallest scheme by number and value of reported payments, and also had the lowest average payment amount of £1000, as set by the scheme guidance for all payments within the scheme.

Allocations

Figure 3: Allocation provisions under targeted and discretionary schemes, all schemes, England

Source: LA grants published data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

The bar chart in Figure 3 shows that £24.0 billion (90%) of the funding allocation was via targeted schemes (RHLGF, SBGF, Restart, LRSG (Open), LRSG (Closed) including LRSG (closed) sub schemes, CSP, OHLG) where LAs were provided with guidance that directed the funding by setting out eligibility criteria for businesses, for example the business sector or rateable value.

Discretionary schemes (LADGF, ARG) were allocated £2.7 billion (10%) of the funding. In these schemes, LAs were encouraged to use the funding to support those businesses ineligible for the targeted schemes but that had been most severely impacted by the pandemic, or by way of wider support to the local business economy. Full scheme guidance is available for earlier and later schemes.

Figure 4: Percentage spending as a proportion of allocations, all schemes, England

Source: LA grants published data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

The bar chart in Figure 4 shows the proportional spend reported for each scheme compared to the allocation provided. The average for all schemes was 84%, with the highest proportional spending coming from the 2 discretionary schemes of LADGF and ARG, both at 97%.

The targeted schemes varied between 68% for the LRSG (Closed) scheme and 93% for the CSP scheme. The final scheme, the OHLG, announced in December 2021, reached a proportional spend of 72%.

Spending on schemes by LAs does not match 100% due to a variety of reasons. Allocations provided to LAs are indicative only, (see the information in Section 2 on Funding Allocations) and may under- or over-estimate the number of eligible businesses. Also, not all eligible business will have applied for grants. On completion of scheme reconciliation, LAs were provided with additional funds where they had spent more than their indicative allocation to fund eligible businesses within targeted schemes. Discretionary schemes allowed LAs to determine their own eligibility criteria and, as such, there were no additional funds provided upon reconciliation. Unspent funding is returned to the Treasury.

4. Business characteristics

Business sectors

The compliance rate for LAs completing the “sector” field in the grant-level data overall was 76%, and 87% for the data collected in 2022. LAs were asked to record the business sector using the ONS Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes; detailed information is available from the ONS.

Where payment information provided did not contain a sector or was recorded as ‘unknown’, (24% of the original data) we have removed these payments from the analysis presented here.

Figure 5: The proportional value of reported payments by business sector, Cohort 2 schemes, England

Source: LA grants grant-level data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

The bar chart in Figure 5 shows that the Accommodation and Food Services sector received the largest proportion of payments by value at 36%. Other Services, which includes the activities of membership organisations, the repair of personal and household goods - and a variety of personal service activities not covered elsewhere in the classification - received the second largest at 19%. Wholesale and Retail Trade received 16%, and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation received 14%. Other sectors accounted for 15% of the payments. All sectors receiving at least 1% of payments are provided in the chart’s data download.

Figure 6: The proportional value of payments by business sector for targeted and discretionary grants, Cohort 2 schemes, England

Source: LA grants grant-level data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

The bar chart in Figure 6 shows the top 4 sectors by payment value for targeted and discretionary schemes. Smaller sectors have been grouped but are provided in the chart’s data download.

For targeted schemes the guidance provided (available for earlier and later schemes), meant that there was greater definition regarding business eligibility which included regulations on business sectors and rateable values. Figure 6 shows that payments made through targeted schemes were highest in the Accommodation & Food Services sector at 41%, followed by Other Services at 17%, Wholesale and Retail Trade at 16% and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation at 14%. Just 12% of payments relate to sectors not accounted for by these top 4 sectors.

Discretionary schemes allowed LAs to issue grants at their discretion, based on local economic needs. LAs were encouraged to support businesses from all sectors that were severely impacted by the pandemic but not eligible for other grant schemes, including those outside of the business rates system and supply chain firms. Figure 6 shows that discretionary scheme payments were highest in the Other Services sector at 30%. Twenty-six (26%) of payments were to smaller contributing sectors. Accommodation and Food services accounted for 17% of discretionary payments, Transportation and Storage for 14% and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation for 13%. The discretionary schemes provided significant funding to 10 different sectors (each receiving more than 1% of the total discretionary funding): see the accompanying data tables for more details.

Business sizes

The compliance rate for LAs completing the ‘size’ field in the grant-level data overall was 71%, and 84% for the data collected in 2022. LAs were asked to complete this field according to the number of employees, using one of these 4 categories: micro (0 to 9 employees), small (10 to 49 employees), medium (50 to 249 employees) and large (more than 250 employees).

Where payment information provided did not contain a size (29% of the original data) we have removed these payments from the analysis presented here.

Figure 7: Payments to businesses by business size, Cohort 2 schemes, England

Source: LA grants grant-level data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

The bar chart in Figure 7 shows that the majority of reported payments went to micro businesses which received 80% of the grant payments by number, and a slightly lower amount of 73% by value. Small businesses received 14% by number, and a slightly higher amount of 18% by value, the same trend seen for both medium (2% and 4% respectively) and large (4% and 6% respectively) businesses. On average, smaller grant payments were given to micro businesses compared to other larger sizes, in line with the scheme guidance for targeted schemes, which allowed payment values proportional to property rateable values.

Micro, small, and medium sized businesses combined received 94% of the funding by value which equates to £21.3 billion of the total funding amount, with large businesses receiving £1.3 billion. Most schemes were explicitly targeted at smaller sized businesses, however, subject to subsidy allowance conditions, some large businesses, including those with more than one eligible premises, were also eligible for this funding.

Figure 8: The number of payments to businesses within targeted and discretionary schemes by business size, Cohort 2 schemes, England

Source: LA grants grant-level data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

The proportional stacked bar chart in Figure 8 shows that discretionary schemes gave proportionally fewer payments to businesses of larger sizes than targeted schemes. Small, medium and large sized businesses received 22% of targeted payments, with 78% being provided to micro businesses. Discretionary schemes provided 11% of payments to small, medium and large sized businesses, with 89% being provided to micro businesses.

5. Regional observations

There are 9 English regions which were established in 1994 and are set by the Government Statistical Service Regional and Geography Committee. Full data are available on the Open Geography Portal.

Allocation and payment variations between regions

Figure 9: The value of allocations and reported payments by region, all schemes, England

Source: LA grants published data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

The bar chart in Figure 9 shows that reported spending by region largely reflects that of the allocation provided to the respective region. Funding allocations are broadly proportional to the calculated number of eligible businesses and are discussed in more detail in Section 2.

The London region had the largest total allocation at £4.26 billion and reported spending of £3.42 billion, which is 80% of allocation and the lowest of all regions.

The North East region had the lowest total allocation at £1.22 billion and reported spending of £1.07 billion which is 88% of allocation, the second highest of all regions. The highest allocation proportion spending was in the Yorkshire and the Humber region at 89%.

Targeted and discretionary payment variations between regions

Figure 10: The proportional value of reported payments for targeted and discretionary grants by region, all schemes, England

Source: LA grants published data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

The scaled bar chart in Figure 10 shows that the South West and Yorkshire and the Humber regions both reported the largest proportional spend on targeted schemes at 90%, but there was little variation across all regions, with the South East and London regions both reporting the smallest proportional spend on targeted schemes at 87%. The average targeted spend was 88%, with 12% being from discretionary schemes. These figures are also similar to the split of overall funding allocations, where 90% was provided as targeted and 10% as discretionary.

6. The OHLG scheme

The OHLG scheme was the final scheme as part of the government’s COVID-19 Grant Programme of support to businesses. It was announced in December 2021 alongside a third top-up to the ARG scheme, to enable rapid support in response to the rise of the Omicron variant. LAs were asked to increase reporting frequency to provide fortnightly grant-level data for all payments made through the scheme, with these data now being the only reporting requirement. The engagement rate was 90% for completion of the fortnightly data returns. Further insights using this fortnightly data are presented here.

Where payment information provided did not contain a valid date (1% of the original data) we have removed these payments from the analysis presented here. For this reason, comparison of monetary values between the aggregate and grant-level figures is not possible.

Payments to businesses by date

Figure 11: The 7-day average reported payment values and cumulative total payment value by date, OHLG scheme, England

Source: LA grants grant-level data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

The line graph in Figure 11 shows the 7-day average reported payment values made under the OHLG scheme. The first reported payments were made on 4 January 2022, and the final payments on 31 March 2022, the end date of the scheme.

The average 7-day distribution of funding to businesses was over £60 million per day from 24 January 2022 to 12 February 2022, reaching a high of £73 million. This followed local authorities receiving their payment allocations in the first 2 weeks of January, with the scheme having been announced by the Chancellor on 21 December 2021.

In total, by 31 March 2022, £456 million had been reportedly paid to businesses, which is 72% of the total allocation of £635 million provided.

OHLG LA allocation spend

Figure 12: LA allocation spend, OHLG scheme, England

Source: LA grants published data, 2022

Download this chart’s data.

Payments were made to 309 LAs. The histogram in Figure 12 shows that 17 LAs have not reported OHLG spend data. For the 292 LAs where data were received, the percentage spending of allocation follows a normal distribution, with the majority of LAs, 188, reporting percentage spends of between 60% and 90%. 30 LAs have reported spending over their allocation. Note that some LAs may not have provided all of their data returns and so the data may be incomplete, even from LAs where data has been received. On completion of a full scheme reconciliation, LAs are provided with additional funds in the event that they had spent more than their indicative allocation to fund eligible businesses within targeted schemes. Unspent funding is returned to the Treasury.

7. Definitions

The following definitions are used in these insights.

Term	Definition
ARG	Cohort 2 grant. The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) gave initial allocation payments to LAs in November 2020, followed by 3 top-up rounds, the final provided in January 2022. A discretionary fund for LAs to issue at their discretion, based on local economic needs. The scheme closed in March 2022.
CSP	Cohort 2 grant. The Christmas Support Payment (CSP) was announced in December 2020 and provided a one-off payment of £1000 per business for all wet-led pubs in areas that were in Tiers 2-4 for any part of December 2020. The scheme closed in March 2021.
Grant-level data	From November 2020 LAs were asked to provide detailed monitoring and evaluation data. For each grant payment to a business this included the grant scheme, date and amount of payment, business name, unique identifier (for example CRN, VAT number, NINO) address and postcode, as well as business size and sector.
LA	The COVID-19 Business Grant schemes were paid via local authorities (LAs), which were responsible for distributing the funding to businesses within their area and reporting on payments to BEIS.
LADGF	Cohort 1 grant. The Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund (LADGF) was announced in May 2020 as an additional fund aimed at small and micro businesses not eligible for the SBGF and RHLGF. LAs could disburse grants to the value of £25,000, £10,000, or any amount under £10,000. The scheme closed in September 2020.
LRSG (Closed)	Cohort 2 grant. The Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) (Closed) was announced in September 2020 for businesses required to close due to local restrictions. Businesses could claim up to £3,000 per month. In the data presented here this includes the sub-schemes of LRSG (Sectors) and the Closed Business Lockdown Payment (CBLP). The final LRSG scheme closed in June 2021.
LRSG (Open)	Cohort 2 grant. The Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) (Open) was announced in August 2020 for businesses which were not mandated to close but were severely impacted by local restrictions. Businesses could receive up to £2,100 per month. The scheme closed in May 2021.
OHLG	Cohort 2 grant. The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant (OHLG) was announced in December 2021 and provided a one-off grant payment of up to £6,000 made to eligible hospitality, leisure or accommodation businesses. The scheme closed in March 2022.
Restart	Cohort 2 grant. The Restart Grant was announced in April 2021 and provided a one-off cash grant of up to £6,000 for non-essential retail and up to £18,000 for hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation businesses. The scheme closed in July 2021.
SBGF and RHLGF	Cohort 1 grants. The Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF) and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF) schemes were announced at Budget on 11 March 2020. For the SBGF all businesses in England in receipt of either Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) or Rural Rates Relief (RRR) in the business rates system were eligible for a payment of £10,000. For the RHLGF all businesses in England that would have been in receipt of the Expanded Retail Discount (which covers retail, hospitality and leisure) on 11 March 2020, with a rateable value of less than £51,000, were eligible for grants of up to £25,000 per property. These schemes closed in September 2020 and are treated together for data purposes.

8. About these insights

Status and use

These insights are provided as transparency data only. They do not constitute an Official Statistics release. These data are published in order to provide further insights into the spending via the Business Grant schemes throughout the pandemic, and to provide transparency of the data that has been collected.

The data used in these insights have been self-reported by local authorities and collected by BEIS. Although some quality assurance has been carried out, it has not been possible to carry out full verification of the data provided. Not all authorities have provided all data for all schemes and, as such, the data are incomplete. This context should be considered when using the figures presented here.

These data cannot be used to draw insights into fraud or error within the schemes and they cannot be used to make judgements on the effectiveness of policy implementation, due to the limitations discussed above. The department has ongoing assurance activities to identify fraud and error and is undertaking an evaluation of the Grants Programme, which is expected to be completed in early 2023.

Rounding

Figures have been rounded in their presentation here, so some percentage totals may not sum to 100.

Where to find out more

Statistics on Coronavirus support for business and individuals, various publications covering wider business support including CBILS/CLBILS, BBLS, and CJRS.

Coronavirus grant funding: local authority payments to small and medium businesses, allocation and payment data for all business grant schemes by local authority.

Coronavirus Business Grant funding by Parliamentary constituency and local authority, allocation and payment data for all business grant schemes by parliamentary constituency.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): business support grant funding - guidance for local authorities, published guidance for local authorities on paying grants to support businesses, for earlier schemes.

COVID-19 Business Grant funding schemes: guidance for local authorities, published guidance for local authorities on paying grants to support businesses, for later schemes.

Future releases

As of 31 March 2022 all COVID-19 grant schemes were closed. No further published releases are planned for these data.