To ask the Minister of Finance whether businesses who pay rates via their rent, as stated in their lease agreement, were eligible for the £10,000 Small Business Grant as a response to COVID-19, including those rent space within a shared building.

The essential eligibility criteria for the £10,000 Small Business Grant were as follows:

The Net Annual Value of the property was £15,000 or less.

The property was in receipt of Small Business Rate Relief at the scheme launch date.

The property was occupied at the scheme launch date.

In addition to eligibility criteria, only one grant could be paid in respect of each qualifying property.

Businesses renting space within a shared building were eligible for the grant where the space they occupied was separately valued in the Valuation List and met the qualifying criteria. Additional information was required to confirm the eligibility for the grant of businesses renting property where the landlord or owner was liable to pay the rates. A separate application process to gather that information was put in place for those businesses.

Having a lease agreements in respect of rent and rate payments was not one of the eligibility criteria. However, LPS reserved the right to obtain verification that the applicant was an occupying tenant.

In cases where more than one business occupied a property, only one grant could be paid to the named ratepayer on the rate account. Businesses occupying a shared building valued as a single property entry on the Valuation List, could not meet the eligibility criteria.