Non-essential retail businesses will be entitled to grants as part of the Government's £5bn scheme to help businesses post-lockdown.
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce the much-anticipated grant scheme to help businesses hit hardest by the pandemic - such as shops, pubs, clubs, gyms and hair salons - get access to new direct cash grants of up to £18,000.
These businesses will be entitled to the "restart grants" expected to be distributed by the local authority, Milton Keynes Council, from April onwards.
The Chancellor believes that these handouts will help people "reopen their businesses" and is "the right thing to do now".
This means that non-essential retail will be able to apply for grants up to £6,000 per premise. Hospitality, accommodation, hairdressers, gyms, and other hard-hit businesses will be able to apply for grants up to £18,000 per premise.
The news of the £5bn grant scheme has been welcomed by businesses, and also one of the city's MPs.
Iain Stewart, MP for Milton Keynes South, said: "The reopening of our high streets will be key to kick-starting our economic recovery. We are delivering further support to the thousands of businesses that have been hit hardest by the pandemic through a new £5 billion grant scheme.
"Under the scheme, non-essential retail businesses will get up to £6,000 per premise to help them reopen and start trading safely. Hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses in England will get up to £18,000 per premise."
More information on the upcoming grant scheme will be revealed by the Chancellor when he unveils his budget plans on Wednesday (3/2).
It is also expected that Rishi Sunak will announce an extension of the furlough scheme, something which he has heavily hinted at over the past week.
Speaking to Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Mr Sunak insisted he would continue to do whatever it takes to support people and businesses in the UK through the coronavirus crisis.
Mr Sunak said "there is more to come" on COVID-19 support and it was right that it "aligns" with the road map out of lockdown.
But he refused to deny he had told MPs privately that he would raise taxes now before cutting them in a pre-election budget, leading to Labour accusations that he was "playing politics with the recovery".
Mr Sunak told Ridge: "I said at the beginning of this crisis that I would do whatever it took to protect people, families and businesses through this crisis and I remain completely committed to that.
"The prime minister in the road map set out a path for us to recover and reopen and I want to support people and businesses along that path… I want to make sure people realise that we are going to be there to support them and if you look at our track record, we went big, we went early and there is more to come next week."
