Chamber welcomes £10,000 boost for firms who missed out on Covid support
Business leaders have welcomed a £10,000 cash boost for more than 400 Birmingham based hospitality and leisure businesses which missed out on previous Government Covid support.
The scheme has been backed by Birmingham City Councillors, the funding comes from a £22.8 million Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund.
The grants will be paid to eligible businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000.
These include restaurants, pubs, clubs, bars, cafes, museums, art galleries, cinemas, theatres, bingo halls and amusement arcades.
Due to their rateable value, the majority of these businesses “missed out ” on the small business and retail, leisure and hospitality grants made available last year.
The council has said that it will identify eligible businesses, contact them directly to notify them and request the necessary information required to process payments by 22 January.
Birmingham City Council 's deputy leader, Cllr Brigid Jones, said: “The ARG fund has been provided to councils by the Government to enable local authorities to use their discretion to support businesses which do not automatically qualify for other grant support schemes.
“It 's important we do everything we can to protect these businesses and the livelihoods associated with them. This emergency intervention will provide a much-needed lifeline to preserve the future of another 421 businesses, the jobs associated with them and the wider economy. ”
Although Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) chief executive Paul Faulkner welcomed the news, he added that for many closed businesses with a high rateable value and the wider supply chain, more Government support is needed.
He said: “At the end of last year, we surveyed over 380 local businesses on where they believed that they will be in six months ' time without further Government support; one in 20 believed they would be closed or in administration.
“We believe that the latest developments regarding the full national lockdown have made the situation even more pressing for the most impacted. We welcome this action from Birmingham City Council to support these businesses that were largely excluded from the small business and retail, leisure and hospitality sector grants made available last year.
“The hospitality and leisure sector plays such a critical role in our city on both employment and its attractiveness as a great place to live, work and do business. For many, 'closed ' businesses with a high rateable value, the current national Government grants do not come close to covering their rent, costs of furloughed staff and other key overheads.
“The scale of the issue and challenges facing the business community is far bigger than the resources currently available at a local level. There are many thousands of businesses in other sectors also facing an uncertain future due to this dramatic scale of the disruption caused by the pandemic.
“We will continue to call on the Government to back our businesses with a significant, coordinated package of support on additional grants, reliefs, deferments to help our communities survive and in time, thrive. We will also continue to work together with Birmingham City Council and key partners on finding local support and solutions wherever possible. ”
For more information on the grants being administered by Birmingham City Council visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/50232/support_for_businesses or for the latest lockdown guidance visit www.gov.uk/government/news/46-billion-in-new-lockdown-grants-to-support-businesses-and-protect-jobs
For more information on the GBCC 's Back Our Businesses campaign click here.
Pictured: Birmingham City Council