Businesses that have been forced to close in the current lockdown are being offered financial support by East Devon District Council.

It is administering a 'Closed Business Lockdown Payment' (CBLP) and a new 'Local Restrictions Support Grant' (LRSG).

A spokesperson for the council said: "Businesses do not need to contact us, just visit the council's website to check your eligibility and complete the online form.

"All businesses that applied for a grant for the November restrictions have been sent an email with an access code and instructions on accessing these grants"

"The amount of grant funding that businesses legally required to close will receive is dependent on the current rateable value (RV) of your premises. Payments range from £6000 to £13,500.

"If you have not claimed a grant for the November restrictions and your business was legally required to close, you can still apply for this period.

"In addition, if your business was impacted by Tier 2 and Tier 3 restrictions and you have not claimed any grants, you can still claim for this period through the LRSG (closed) or LRSG (open) schemes, depending whether your business was closed or open.

"Both the November and December schemes are open until the 31st March 2021 but businesses should apply as soon as possible."

Which businesses are eligible for support?

The Government's list of businesses and venues that have had to close during this lockdown includes those providing non-essential retail; personal care facilities; hospitality venues and leisure/entertainment.

Councillor Jack Rowland, East Devon District Council's Portfolio Holder for Finance, said:

"To be able to process applications more quickly and ensure businesses receive the essential financial help they need, we have simplified and shortened the form to make it quicker for businesses to receive the grants.

"We are urgently supporting East Devon businesses by issuing much-needed grants at this crucial time. In just one day, we received 700 applications in response to the access code emails, which is at least £4.5m in approved payments.

"Please note, as of 4th January, businesses in administration, insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made are not eligible for funding under this scheme.

"Every claim will be subject to anti-fraud assessment and account verification. Attempts to fraudulently claim public grant funding will result in funds being recovered and legal action being taken in every instance."