The government provided guidance to local authorities on 15 December 2021 regarding the COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF).

This new funding gives direct support to business ratepayers who have been adversely affected by the pandemic and were not previously eligible for the extended retail discount or the nursery discount.

Policy

The government has provided local authorities with information on the types of businesses where:

• the impact of Covid-19 has been minimal
• the types of properties in question have already become eligible for alternative relief in respect of direct retail, leisure or hospitality premises

Qualifying businesses will receive 26.5% relief from business rates after all other reliefs and discounts have been applied for the 2021/2022 business rates year.

Eligibility

Ratepayers will not be eligible for the scheme if they are:

• entitled to Expanded Retail Discount, Nursery Discount or the Airport and Ground Operations Schemes
• entitled to either small business rate relief or rural rate relief granted at 100%
• entitled to mandatory relief (80%) and discretionary top up of 20%

The property in question must:

• be considered as occupied by the Royal Borough of Greenwich
• not be an excluded type property as set out in the CARF policy 

The ratepayer will have to confirm that they have been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and have been unable to adapt to the impact.

Read the Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund Policy to see if your business may be eligible.