WARRINGTON South MP Andy Carter has welcomed a government decision to provide an additional £600m funding to support small local businesses struggling to survive during lockdown.
It now means small businesses including those in rented offices and market traders, will be able to apply for grants of £10,000 up to £25,000 to help with running costs and cash flow.
Mr Carter was one of a number of MPS who had written to Secretaries of State Robert Jenrick MP and Alok Sharma MP, on behalf of the many small businesses who had failed to meet existing criteria to qualify for grants.
Mr Carter said: “I wrote to the Chancellor about two weeks ago with a number of other MP colleagues who have a business backgrounds to tell him that some businesses were missing out on the excellent support the Government had offered through the small business grant. That included businesses in shared offices and regular market traders who were forced to close. The Chancellor has listened, as he did when he made changes to the job retention scheme, and has added in more organisations who will be able to claim grant aid of up to £25,000.”
“This Support will be tiered and the Council will be able to decide on grants of £10k up to £25k, the priority of all the grants schemes continues to be to help the smallest businesses, particularly those which are facing significant property-related costs and operate in sectors which have been particularly hard hit by the steep decline in customers.”
“It will mean that small businesses may need to register with the local council to be able to claim the grant and I will continue to encourage the Government to take all the steps necessary to help business here in Warrington bounce back as soon as the restrictions are lifted”.
This includes:
• Businesses in shared offices;
• Regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessment;
• B&Bs which pay Council Tax instead of business rates; and
• Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.
Yesterday Warrington Borough Council Leader Cllr Russ Bowden wrote to the Secretary of State saying the council was going to start paying discreationary grants, unless directed otherwise.
