How Atherstone and North Warwickshire businesses have fared on the emergency coronavirus grants' merry-go-round

ONLY 50 ELIGIBLE COMPANIES HAVE MISSED OUT WITH LESS THAN £200,000 LEFT IN THE PAYMENTS' POT

BUT FSB WARNS THAT £1.5bn REMAINS UNCLAIMED ACROSS ENGLAND, WALES AND SCOTLAND

SAVVY businesses in Atherstone and North Warwickshire have taken advantage of millions of pounds of government emergency coronavirus grants through lockdown.

And it's likely that almost none of the outstanding grant money available locally will go back to the Treasury at the end of the month.

Four months after £12 billion was released nationally to help firms through the pandemic a total of £1.5 billion is unclaimed, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.

The Government has said it was working with councils to reach eligible businesses.

On March 17, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced emergency grants to help support small and rural businesses, as well as retailers.

The lump sums of £10,000 through the Small Business Grant Fund and £25,000 through the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund, were intended to help minimise disruption to cash flows.

As of August 3, some £10.8 billion had been paid out to more than 882,920 businesses nationally, leaving £1.5 billion yet to reach nearly 80,000 eligible firms by late August, according to official data.

In Atherstone and across North Warwickshire some £13.12 million was initially given to the district, with 1,164 businesses being identified as being eligible. A month later 704 businesses had received grant payments.

As of August 3, some 1,181 firms had been identified – with grant payments going out to 1,129 of them.

The overall value of grant payments made has reached £12.94 million – leaving only £178,000 remaining.

Some 95.6 per cent of local businesses fitting the criteria have received grants and in terms of the amounts paid – that figure rises to 98.64 per cent..

The average sum paid out so far has been £11,461 to each applicant.

Only 52 eligible businesses have missed out to date.

In addition a second round of discretionary grants for small businesses – sole traders, those working from home, public houses, restaurants and charitable organisations – has been opened for a two-week period. That closed last Thursday.

The first round benefitted 88 companies.

FSB national chairman Mike Cherry said: "Small businesses have been through what for many has been and will be the most difficult period they have ever faced, and while things are slowly starting to improve, we're not out of the woods yet.

"Many councils have already handed out more than 90 per cent of their Small Business Grants which is good to see, but that means that more money remains which needs to be handed out.

"But as we recently said in a major FSB report, now is the time for the Government and the Treasury to make the next step.

"Back in May, a discretionary fund was set up to accommodate certain small businesses previously outside the scope of other grants, such as limited company directors and those in the supply chains of the leisure and retail sectors.

"Now is the time for this five per cent Discretionary Fund, to be repeated.

"We want to see this fund issued to councils so that they can help small businesses that may have missed out on initial funding or may not qualify for other grants.

"This will go some way to helping councils safeguard the future of the local businesses and communities.

"For small businesses, councils and government, now is not the time to delay. With some sectors still struggling to reopen and the spectre of a potential second wave of the virus, we must act now and take the necessary steps needed to prop up small firms who are the backbone of the economy."

Ministers were told last month that the Government must act with more "policy sophistication and transparency" to support businesses and workers in the face of a second wave of the virus.

In a letter to Business Secretary Alok Sharma, Westminster's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee set out a range of areas for the Government to address.

The committee identified gaps for workers in support schemes, protections in place for workers and highlighted bad corporate behaviour during the crisis as key areas that should be assessed.

Committee chairman, Labour MP Darren Jones, said the Government should now look again at its approach to providing sectoral support during the course of the pandemic.

"(Chancellor) Rishi Sunak echoed a previous Chancellor in suggesting that the coronavirus has seen us all in it together. However, it's clear that the reality of the economic lockdown is that its impact has not been shared out evenly and that it is falling very heavily on some parts of our economy."

Mr Jones also said difficult trading conditions would continue to impact on the viability of businesses, adding: "It's clear that some sectors of our economy will continue to face very challenging conditions..

"If we face the prospect of a second-wave and the likelihood of increased local lock-downs, it's essential the Government looks again at its approach to sector support and to the additional measures which will be necessary to secure our economic recovery, help businesses prosper and enable workers to protect their livelihoods."

A BEIS spokesman said: "We have listened to businesses and workers throughout the pandemic to ensure they get the support they need. That is why we have put in place an unprecedented initial package of support to protect jobs, incomes and businesses worth £160 billion.

"This package is one of the most comprehensive in the world and has been specifically tailored to target businesses worst affected by the pandemic, including through our job retention scheme and billions paid in grants, loans, business rates holidays and tax deferrals."

The number of firms that notified the Government in June about plans to cut 20 or more jobs was five times higher than in the same month last year, figures obtained from a Freedom of Information request show.

Some 1,778 firms said were intending to cut more than 139,000 jobs in England, Wales and Scotland. In June 2019, only 345 firms had plans to cut 24,000 jobs

The cuts came as Covid-19 wiped more than a quarter off UK economic output.