Rutland and Melton MP Alicia Kearns has welcomed a fresh package to support businesses and protect jobs throughout the government's third national lockdown.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £4.6 billion programme this morning, following on from the Prime Minister announcement of a third national lockdown last night.

The extra support, the government says, will build on the wide range of existing support and provide these businesses with certainty through the Spring period.

The Chancellor has announced that retail, hospitality and leisure business premises forced to close can claim a one-off grant of up to £9,000 in addition to the existing monthly closed grants of up to £3,00 per month that businesses continue to be eligible for.

Local Authorities will receive the funding for the one-off grants next week, and businesses can receive multiple grants as they are eligible on a per-premises basis.

On top of this, Local Authorities will also be given an additional £594 million in discretionary funding to support their local businesses who are not eligible for the one-off grants.

This £594 million will be allocated in the same way as, the £1.1 billion discretionary funding which Local Authorities in England have already received to support their local economies and help businesses impacted.

Rutland MP Alicia Kearns, said: "The new strain of the virus means we must take swift and targeted action to save lives and protect the NHS, but it is right that the Chancellor has taken equally timely and robust action to bolster our businesses through the tough upcoming months.

"The new one-off grants build on the vast support already available to Rutland and Melton businesses and will help them sustain jobs so workers can return as soon as they are able to reopen.

"I'm particularly delighted to see robust support for our hospitality industry who have suffered so greatly and for whom I've lobbied consistently."

The one-off additional grant each business premises will receive depends on their rateable value:

- Businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 or above: £9,000

- Businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000: £6,000

- Businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or below: £4,000

The new one-off grants come in addition to billions of existing business support, including grants worth up to £3,000 for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses once they reopen.

The Government has also provided 100% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, £1.1 billion existing discretionary funding for Local Authorities, the furlough scheme now extended to April and 100% government backed loans, extended until March.