Thousands of businesses across England are facing further job losses or bankruptcy due to the failure of local authorities to award £1.4bn (US$1.93bn) of emergency Covid-19 grants, the Responses to 400 Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, issued by the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA) to local authorities across England, have indicated that 87% of the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funds, announced by the UK Government, have yet to be paid out. Some local authorities have performed better than others. Ealing Borough Council in London, however, has not paid out anything despite receiving nearly £10m in funding from government. The ARG scheme, which could be worth in excess of £3,000 per month per company, provides funding for local authorities to support businesses forced to close because of national Covid-19 restrictions. These include companies in the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, as well as events and exhibitions businesses. The scheme was announced by the UK Government on 31 October 2020 with an initial £1bn funding allocation. A further £594m was issued in early January 2021.