Businesses urged to apply for Government grants

Thousands of Humber businesses which are missing out on cash grants are being urged to ensure they are applying for all the funding they are eligible for.

The Government has set up two grant schemes for businesses – a grant of up to £10,000 for small businesses of all sectors that are in receipt of small business or rural business rate relief, and a grant of up to £25,000 for those in the leisure, retail and hospitality sectors.

These grants are available to businesses through their local authorities – but despite a positive response to the scheme, a large proportion of businesses in the Humber still haven’t applied for this money – which can be deposited in a business’s bank account within days.

Across the four Humber local authorities, £218m has been made available from the Government for local councils to distribute.

While many have taken advantage of the scheme, as many as 4,800 eligible businesses are yet to apply.

Lord Chris Haskins, chairman of the Humber LEP, said: “The Government’s Business Rates Cash Grants are available to both small businesses and leisure, retail and hospitality businesses across the Humber, whether they have had to close or not.

“We all know how hard businesses are being hit by the measures we are living under to stop the spread of coronavirus.

“At this difficult time, we know it’s not at the forefront of a business owner’s mind to take on more work filling out extra paperwork, but this application is different – for the sake of a few minutes giving basic details, eligible businesses can secure a much-needed grant that their competitors may already have received.

“We want to ensure all businesses in our region are getting the help they are both entitled and eligible for in these extremely challenging trading conditions.”

Tips to help get a cash grant as soon as possible:

• Ensure you have the most up-to-date paperwork on hand
• Ensure you are passing on the correct bank and business details to your Local Authority
• Make sure you are contacting the Local Authority where your business is based
• If you are unsure whether your business is eligible, don’t be afraid to check
• Your business doesn’t need to have closed for you to be eligible for these grants

The Humber Business Growth Hub has partnered with the four Humber local authorities to produce a guidance document that explains the grant eligibility and application process in more detail, which can be downloaded at www.humbergrowthhub.org/covid-19

Meanwhile, the Growth Hub still has many forms of support available to Humber businesses.

The Growth Hub has grants available for ITC equipment to support homeworking, as well grants for financial services and other specialist advisors. These sums will cover 40% of a business’s overall costs.

The Growth Hub’s advisor network is also supporting businesses across all four local authorities. E-mail growth.hub@humberlep.org to be put in touch with a local advisor.