HBBC Supporting businesses across the borough

Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council

Hinckley Hub, Rugby Road, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 0FR

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

 

ISSUED 1 APRIL 2020

 

TWO PAGES

 

 

Supporting Businesses across the borough

 

 

Businesses across Hinckley and Bosworth have begun to receive grants to support them through the coronavirus pandemic with more set to be paid this week.

 

Hinckley and Bosworth Council began making the awards today (1 April) on the first day of the business grant award scheme, paying hundreds of thousands of pounds to local businesses.

 

The council’s business rates team have contacted hundreds of businesses to ensure they will be paid the grants they are due and will continue to work with local businesses to ensure all who are eligible will be provide with these much needed funds

 

More than 1600 businesses across the borough are eligible for the grants, which range from £10,000 to £25,000 depending on the size of the company.

 

In total, the council expect to pay out £22m in grant payments once all eligible businesses make their applications and staff work through processing these.

 

The council is intending to process more applications this week and is encouraging all eligible businesses to apply.

 

In addition the council has already processed over £1.8m of the Expanded Retail Discount Scheme relief, ensuring all qualifying retailers secure a 12 months business rate discount.

 

Chief Executive Bill Cullen said: “We have redeployed a number of staff from services across the organisation to contact the many businesses that we do not hold bank details for, to ensure we can make arrangements for secure payments to them and to mitigate through the systems we have in place against any potential fraud.

“To be in a position to be making payments to businesses from today is remarkable given the government has been continually updating guidance to councils, the most recent of which arrived yesterday.

 

“To help our teams to continue to work through the payments as quickly as possible we are asking companies to go online and sign up for e-billing.”

 

Council Leader Stuart Bray added: “This is an absolute priority, we are determined to get the grants out to our businesses as soon as we possibly can to mitigate the impact of the closedown on jobs and the local economy. We appreciate it’s a very worrying time and we are determined to do all we can to help our local businesses.

 

“My thanks to everyone at the council who is working on this in very trying circumstances.”

 

For more information about eligibility and how to apply go to www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk/coronavirus

 

ENDS