To be eligible for the grant, a business must have been required to close due to local Covid-19 restrictions. The largest businesses will receive £1,500 every three weeks they are required to close. Smaller businesses will receive £1,000.

Payments are triggered by a national decision to close businesses in a high incidence area. Each payment will be made for a three-week lockdown period. Each new three-week lockdown period triggers an additional payment.

“These grants provide businesses with a safety net as they temporarily close their doors to help save lives in their local areas. As local economies eventually and carefully re-open after local interventions, our Plan for Jobs is there waiting to help businesses get back on their feet, protect jobs and thrive in the future,” said Steve Barclay, chief secretary to the Treasury.

“Though a lot of firms have now been able to reopen, thousands are still impacted by local lockdowns. That’s why this intervention is so critical - throwing a much needed additional financial lifeline to those most harmed,” said Mike Cherry, national chairman of The Federation of Small Businesses.