London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for an ‘urgent’ extension to the business rates holiday for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses.
Mr Khan’s call comes in a joint letter with the chair of London Councils to Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, Robert Jenrick. The current business rates holiday, which was introduced at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, is due to end in March 2021.
The mayor states that the extension would provide a “lifeline” to businesses in London that have been hit particularly hard by the reduction in tourism.
The letter also requests that support is made available to enable employers to be reimbursed the full pay of workers who have to self-isolate, as opposed to a regime based on Statutory Sick Pay.
And, the mayor calls for support via Local Restrictions Support Grant and Discretionary Grants, including specifically for hardest-hit economic sectors, and for this to be tailored to take specific account of rental and rateable values in London that are much higher than the national average.
Sadiq Khan said: “I vow to work closely with Ministers to do all we can to help Londoners support one another through this second wave and the very challenging weeks and months ahead.”
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