Councils criticised for slow rollout of coronavirus business grants package
Business groups have criticised councils for the slow rollout of the government’s coronavirus grant scheme as new figures reveal that almost 40 per cent of all eligible businesses are still waiting for the emergency funding.
Councils across the country were given £12.33bn by the government four weeks ago on 1 April to distribute to businesses as a part of the government’s emergency grant scheme.
New figures released last night showed £7.60bn of the emergency funding had been given out to businesses as of Sunday, meaning 38.4 per cent of eligible businesses still had not received anything.
If councils continue to distribute the funds, which are up to £25,000, at the same rate then it will take another two-and-a-half weeks for all businesses to have received their grants.
There is a great disparity in performance, with some boroughs distributing upward of 90 per cent of their allotted funds and others struggling to reach 30 per cent.
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Richard Burge said many councils needed to improve.
“It’s clear from the figures that whilst there’s grant delivery progress on last week, there’s not enough progress,” he said.
“Part of that will be due to business needing to respond to correspondence from their council, but part will also be the delivery from the council.
“Those boroughs who aren’t achieving fast enough grant distribution may need to be looking at whether they can reallocate internal resource to doing so.”
Federation of Small Businesses national chair Mike Berry said every day that goes by for small businesses without those cash grants “is another day worrying about the future of their livelihoods”.
“That is why it is essential that councils get these funds issued as soon as possible and into the hands of small firms before it’s too late,” he said.
“There are still a large amount of councils yet to give out between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of the money, meaning there are still thousands of small firms waiting for those funds.
“Now more than ever, it is vital that we get the money out there and back our small businesses.”
Grants of £10,000 are available to small businesses of any kind with a rateable value of between £12,00 and £15,000 as a part of the government’s coronavirus response.
Companies in the hospitality, retail and tourism sectors are also eligible for an additional grant that is paid per property of their business.
Properties with a rateable value of up to £51,000 are eligible to receive either a £10,000 or £25,000 grant.
When asked about the scheme’s roll out today, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We’ve said we wanted that money to be paid out as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for the Local Government Association said that setting up the new scheme had been “a huge task” and that “councils are working hard to get the money to eligible businesses as quickly as possible”.
When asked why some councils had been slow to distribute funds, they said: “A number of factors such as the nature of the business community in a particular place and how easy it is to reach out to them and engage with them on this scheme. Other issues relate to how fast the necessary software was delivered and how fast businesses have been to engage with councils.”