23rd December 2021
Teignbridge District Council – New funding available to support businesses
Business Brief
New funds available to support businesses
With a number of new funds and business rates relief schemes announced in recent days, we’ve put together a brief summary of what support is available and how to apply.
We are waiting for further detail from the Government about how some of this support will be allocated and will publish it on our website as soon as it’s available and we’ve put in place a system for people to apply, but this isn’t likely to be until the New Year.
In the meantime and don’t contact us unless it’s through the application processes we’ve set out, as we’re working as hard as we can to get these all up and running as quickly as possible.
GAP grants
The GAP Grant Scheme is designed to assist businesses facing severe financial difficulty due to cash flow issues caused by Covid-19. GAP funding will additionally award businesses which have an adaptation and growth plan that was impacted by Covid-19, having forecasted their business activity and market demands.
This GAP scheme will continue to safeguard businesses facing financial hardship, however will additionally encourage economic development and growth. Firms who can detail growth plan for their business will score extra points.
Grants will be offered at a minimum £10,000 and a maximum of £50,000.
Find out more including how to apply for the fund on our website.
SFEF fund
The Small Firms Employment Fund (SFEF) supports businesses of ten employees or less with the purchase of products or services that with this purchase, the business is able to create another job. The scheme aids job creation in the area, skills development and training, and local supply chain resilience.
Organisations are able to apply for grants between the values of £5,000 to £25,000.
Find out more including how to apply for the fund on our website.
Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund
The Government announced the COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund on 15 December 2021.
The fund is intended to support those businesses affected by the pandemic but that are ineligible for existing support linked to business rates. As such it is not open to businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector that currently receive the expanded retail discount.
Local Authorities have to put in place local schemes to apply the funding but please note that this is not a fund from which cash payments are available, like the previous business grants.
Any discretionary relief granted is to reduce the chargeable amounts in respect of the business rates year 2021/22. The allocation for charge reductions within Teignbridge is £2,019,446.
We can’t reduce our own rate bills or any precepting authorities so unfortunately parishes won’t be entitled to any reduction.
We are working with the rest of Devon to agree our approach and put a policy in place as soon as possible.
Hospitality and Leisure Support Grants
Recognising that the rise of the Omicron variant means some businesses are likely to struggle over the coming weeks, the government announced yesterday (22 December) that it will be providing one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises for businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in England. The Government will also cover the cost of Statutory Sick Pay for Covid-related absences for small and medium sized employers. In addition a £30m culture recovery fund will be available for cultural organisations to apply for support during the winter.
The grants will be administered by Local Authorities and will become available in the coming weeks.
As soon as Government Guidance is received we will put a scheme in place to support the payment of these grants as quickly as possible, and will publish updates with more detail on our website as soon as it’s available.
Take part in our budget survey
We’ve just launched our budget survey to find out what our residents think of this year’s priorities. One of our top priorities is to invest in the local economy, by regenerating town centres to promote jobs and attract investment, support local business to build back stronger from the pandemic, and invest in the next generation and promote local employment and growth. It’s important we hear from a wide range of local communities, including residents and businesses.
Please take part in the survey and tell us whether we’ve got our priorities right.