Businesses in York in line for latest lockdown grants
Hundreds of them will get payments by Wednesday.
Businesses in York will be among the first in the country to receive the latest lockdown grants.
Hundreds of them will get payments by Wednesday.
The council issued £14.5m of grants last week - including one-off payments of between £4,000 and £9,000 for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses.
This grant is designed to meet the needs of businesses not forced to close but severely impacted by the lockdown.
Today, the executive member for finance and performance, Cllr Nigel Ayre, and Executive member for economy, Cllr Andrew Waller, will consider proposals to extend support to even more businesses falling through the cracks of government schemes.
Councillor Nigel Ayre, executive member for finance and performance, said: “We promised York businesses that our team were once again ready to get grants paid faster than the rest of the country.
“Having received the government guidance and funding on Wednesday, the payments have been processed without the need to apply within 48 hours, and will be in business bank accounts by Wednesday.
“I’d like to thank our payments team for their commitment to getting this money where it belongs, and our business partners across the city for helping us keep businesses informed and reassure them that the payments and support is on its way.
“While we’ve made the process as simple as possible by automatically paying businesses which have received grants, we know that there will be some who have never applied - I urge them to check the criteria and apply if you qualify"
Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for economy and strategic planning, said: “Making sure grants get to businesses as quickly and simply as possible has been central to our pandemic response. This protects jobs, the supply chain and the city’s wider economy."