One in three East Midlands businesses still waiting for emergency coronavirus grants

One in three East Midlands businesses are still waiting for emergency grants from the Government, six weeks after Chancellor Rishi Sunak launched the rescue package.

More than £1bn was allocated for 82,000 small businesses and those operating in the retail and leisure sectors as part of the measures to prevent an economic catastrophe following on from the Covid-19 pandemic.

But TheBusinessDesk.com can reveal that 27,000 of the 82,000 eligible businesses in the region had not received the money by the start of this week.

Across England, 62% of grants have been paid out with businesses receiving £7.6bn. However £4.7bn remained unpaid, including £360m to East Midlands businesses.

The payments are from the Government’s small business grants fund and the retail, hospitality and leisure business grants fund.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced on March 17 – the Tuesday before lockdown began – that the Government would hand out grants to nearly 1m small businesses.

All businesses eligible for small business rates relief or rural rates relief can receive a £10,000 grant.

Specific support was provided to shops, restaurants, bars and other leisure operators. Businesses which are eligible for the expanded retail discount will receive a £10,000 grant if its rateable value is up to £15,000, and a grant of £25,000 if its rateable value is between £15,000 and £51,000.

Nationally 345,000 of the 959,000 eligible businesses were still waiting to receive their money by Sunday, more than one month into the lockdown which has sent shockwaves through the economy.

It has also put increased pressure on stretched local authorities, which are dealing with the long-term effects of a decade of local government cuts, the short-term disruption to their own operations, and additional demands on its services.

David Lloyd, leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, paid credit to the teams responsible for “for pulling out all the stops” with it among the region’s best performers after paying out more than three-quarters of the £29m it was allocated.

He said: “They have diligently worked around the clock to ensure grants have been paid out quickly and this has evidently helped protect the local economy by saving jobs and businesses.”

There is a huge disparity between the performance of local authorities, with more than seven out of 10 businesses still waiting for money in some parts of the country.

Five authorities – Sandwell, Harrow, Slough, Tendring and South Derbyshire – had paid out less than 30% of their allocation by Sunday night, and 41 authorities had distributed less than half.

However Ealing, Epping Forest and Westminster had all allocated more than 90% of their funding.

South Derbyshire District Council has the lowest payment rate in the East Midlands, and fifth-lowest in England.

Council leader Cllr Martyn Ford explained that the process of verification is preventing money being paid more quickly.

“We will continue to process more claims and payments every day, as we know how important it is to support local businesses financially at this difficult time,” he said.

“It’s vital we verify claims to check they are valid and to ensure the money goes to support local businesses and jobs. We are processing all claims as fast as we can and thank businesses for their patience.”

Luke Slaney opened Henry George Menswear in Ilkeston last year and is among the 47% of eligible businesses located in Erewash Borough Council to receive their grant.

He said: “We followed guidelines on the Erewash website to fill in a form to provide bank details for payment and then we were informed we have to fill in different form two weeks later with essentially the same information so that was pretty tedious and repetitive.

“The grant has allowed us to pay rent, wages for my staff and supplier invoices, so whilst the Grant was an anxious wait, we are thankful for it being distributed as quickly as it did.”

Erewash Borough Council deputy leader Cllr Wayne Major asked for “patience and understanding” as it seeks to distribute another £13m.

“We are fully aware of the impact of the coronavirus and understand how vital these grants are to businesses,” he said. “Please be assured our team is working hard to get them out as quickly as possible and to reach the remaining eligible businesses.”

Leicester City Council, which has the largest amount of money to distribute in the East Midlands, had paid out 55% of the £85m it has.

It said it was “fully up to date in processing all the claims received” unless it needed to confirm eligibility or verify details – and encouraged businesses to get in touch via the Council’s website to enter their claim.

A spokesperson said: “The sooner we receive their claim, the sooner we can ensure they receive any help they are entitled to.”

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