Dorset Council has today (11 June) reached a milestone at having paid out more than £100 million to just over 8000 small businesses in the county.
The council was given around £134 million from Government to distribute to businesses from the retail, hospitality and leisure sector in the Dorset Council area, which have been adversely affected by the impact of Covid-19.
Cllr Gary Suttle, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth and Skills, said:
“To have paid out over £100 million to thousands of businesses in the Dorset Council area in such a short space of time is a real achievement. We drafted in colleagues from across the organisation to help when we realised what a huge task this was, handed to us from Government. The team has worked tirelessly to get these much-needed cash injections to businesses, and I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to them.
“We still have £28 million to distribute to Dorset businesses that meet the criteria, and we would appeal to business owners who have not yet applied for a grant through this funding to please do so at www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/business-grants.”
For businesses who were not eligible for this first round of funding, there are more grants available, through the council’s Discretionary Fund. However, there is only a short time left to apply, the deadline is midnight on Sunday 14 June. So far, the council has received around 1700 applications for this funding.
The Discretionary Fund is specifically aimed at businesses who have not yet received any previous COVID related Government financial support. Businesses can check their eligibility and apply here www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/discretionary-fund
Deadline Midnight 14 th June. I received emal just after 3.00 pm on Monday 15th. Not the first time that this has happened
Received on the 15th June and deadline for Discretionary Grants has already passed. Get your act together.
Dear Dorset Council,
I had no idea this grant was available! Ive only just found out and feel gutted ive missed this by a day! Is there anyway I can apply in the next 24 hours?
Kind regards,
James
Very pleased to learn you have acted quickly to distribute the grant from the government to small businesses in Dorset. A family running a catering company had to close. They are looking at other ways to have an income. Would they be eligible for a grant. The are the hardest working people and deserve help if it is available. Davina Griffiths
Very pleased to learn you have acted quickly to distribute the grant from the government to small businesses in Dorset. A family running a catering company had to close. They are looking at other ways to have an income. Would they be eligible for a grant. The are the hardest working people and deserve help if it is available. Davina Griffiths
why don’t you publish on a regular basis information on cover-19 such as new cases/cumulative total, death nos/rates etc such as to be found on the BBC news website ? This would be beamed into every home in Dorset and make aware that the virus is around and a threat. The information you currently send out has limited value and does not really suggest there is an ongoing and dangerous epidemic. Make your stuff interesting!
covid-19
As you state Nicholas, general messages about the seriousness of the pandemic are being carried in national media, so there isn’t much need for us to cover that aspect of the crisis. We prefer to focus on how the pandemic is affecting our services and the things we are directly responsible for – James