The Government announced it is making additional funding available to allow the Council to further support small businesses that have been affected by COVID19 but are outside the scope of the existing small business grants scheme and retail, hospitality and leisure scheme. We can now announce a scheme for businesses who have so far received no support during the Covid-19 crisis.
Based upon the Government guidance and the identified priorities of the Council, four grant regimes will be available from 1st to 30th June 2020:
- Shared Space Grant
- Charitable Sector Support Grant
- Bed & Breakfast Support Grant
- Businesses either working from home and/or other locally owned businesses in other premises
To ensure the discretionary grants are awarded to those small businesses most impacted by COVID-19 an assessment will be undertaken against a number of criteria including:
- The businesses must have no more than 50 employees;
- The business must be a solvent business that was trading on 11th March 2020;
- Have ongoing property costs;
- Has been significantly financially affected by Covid-19;
- Has not received other relevant grant support from Central Government apart from the Furlough Scheme.
Organisations which have received cash grants from any Central Government scheme are ineligible for funding from the Discretionary Grants Fund. Such grant schemes include but are not limited to the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant, The Fisheries Response Fund, Domestic Seafood Supply Scheme (DSSS), The Zoos Support Fund and The Dairy Hardship Fund.
Please visit Halton Borough Council’s website https://hbcnewsroom.co.uk/coronaadvice/on 1st June from 9am to access further information and to find out how to apply.