Can you claim the Bed and Breakfast Hardship Fund?

If you run a bed and breakfast it’s likely that you’re finding times tough at the moment. For those based in Scotland, the Scottish Government have introduced a Bed and Breakfast Hardship Fund available to B&B businesses that are struggling due to Covid-19.

Here’s Hamish to tell you all you need to know, including how to claim the Bed and Breakfast Hardship Fund:

How to claim the Bed and Breakfast Hardship Fund

Firstly, the fund is being run by your local authority – so you will need to apply through them. The fund has been set up to support B&Bs who run their business through a personal bank account. If your application is successful you will receive a one-off payment of £3,000.

To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

1. Have either a trade membership, accreditation, registration or simple listing with a recognised hospitality or tourism agency, representative body or marketing organisation (national or local) prior to March 2020
2. At least 35% of your individual income must come from your B&B business
3. Trading profits that are below £50,000 in the financial year 2019-2020
4. You must provide evidence of active trading up to March 2020 and be intending to continue trading in the current 2020-21 tax year
5. You must have filed trading accounts for 2018-2019
6. You either have lost or you anticipate losing business this year due to coronavirus and are experiencing or anticipating financial hardship as a result, you will need to produce a cashflow to show this,
7. You are not in receipt of any other COVID-19 related business grant support.
8. You do not receive Universal Credit, Statutory Sick Pay, Employment and Support Allowance, Job Seekers’ Allowance, Income Support, or have applied for but not yet started receiving Universal Credit or an advanced payment of Universal Credit
9. You have taken steps to limit your costs and expenditure (eg. through schemes such as VAT deferral / seeking a mortgage payment holiday)
10. You do not have access to sufficient savings or other sources of income to meet basic needs
11. The business operates within the local authority to whom you are submitting this application

You will have to provide documentary evidence of the following:

1. 2018-19 Trading accounts
2. 3 months of personal or joint personal bank statements evidencing business revenue or expenditure on those statements during financial year 2019-2020
3. One of the following:
   1. HMRC unique tax reference
   2. VAT registration number
   3. Business Registration Number (provided by Companies House, Charities Commission, Mutuals, Public Register and other statutory and regulatory bodies that you must file accounts and annual membership details with)
4. Any one of the following:
   1. Evidence of trading, eg. a supplier or trade account (active). Or other evidence of recent business activity to support your claim (eg correspondence with customers or suppliers)
   2. Valid business insurance
   3. Current marketing materials for your business, eg business website, active social media – provide web links

If successful you will be notified within 10 days, and you will receive your grant of £3,000.

We’re here to help

Our friendly experts are ahppy to answer any questions you may have, or to help in any way. Just get in touch with the quick form below.

Further information can be found at https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/service/coronavirus/bed-and-breakfast-hardship-fund