On 1 May, Government announced a new £617 million discretionary fund which will be allocated to local authorities to give to small businesses who previously missed out on funding.
Both Dorset Council and BCP Council are waiting to hear about their allocations and anticipate further guidance from central Government next week.
Cllr Gary Suttle, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economic growth and Skills said:
“I am heartened by this move by Government. I have encountered a number of businesses that failed to qualify for the existing grant scheme, but clearly need help, and up to now I have found it distressing to be unable to offer anything other than sympathy when action is required.”
“We are working through what details we have and await further guidance. I can promise that as soon as we know what we are dealing with, our teams will move swiftly to allow hard pressed firms to access for this funding as soon as possible.
The scheme is designed to support small businesses that can demonstrate a significant loss of income due to C-19 restriction measures, and which have not received any other form of Government financial support so far.
Councillor David Brown, Cabinet Member for Finance at BCP Council, said:
“We’ve made considerable progress in distributing grant support to local businesses since the start of the lockdown. We are conscious that the current grant schemes are not all inclusive and there are many small businesses in desperate need which have so far not been able to access this support due to the Government’s set awarding criteria.
“As a council, we have continued to lobby government for further support to aid local businesses during these challenging times. In respect to the latest announcement, I am pleased to see some progress is now being made. We eagerly await guidance on the scope of this new fund and the level of discretion which we can apply. Once this has been confirmed, we will do everything we can to provide more information and reach out to businesses who are eligible.’’
To date, Dorset Council has made 6,756 grant payments to businesses in the Dorset Council area, totalling just under £81m and BCP Council has issued 5,153 grants to local businesses with a value of £65.5m.
We administer `Normandy Farmhouses` through a limited company – Brandley Estates Limited from our farm. We own and have been letting two large houses in Normandy for about 15 years to English holiday makers. They are in adjoining villages, one sleeping 14 and the other 12. They both have private pools. One is fully accessible and equipped to receive disabled guests. Bookings this year have been decimated by Covid 19. Many bookings have already been cancelled and costs reimbursed, sadly we anticipate many more. We are bracing ourselves for losses approaching £90000 to £100000. This is our main income.
Please let us know when we would be able to apply for this discretionary assistance. It would make a huge difference to us. Thank you.
Hi there, we only received further guidance on this additional funding from Government last night, so we are working through the detail of that and hope to issue something more useful for small businesses such as yourselves very soon. Kirstie
Hi there – I provide a bridal makeup business, but cannot claim any help but with no weddings this has seriously impacted my income – because I don’t have a premises will I not be eligible for this one either?
We have a Bed and Breakfast in West Bay Rd and we still pay domestic council tax as it is our home and we were advised we didn’t need to pay business rates. We are not sure about the grant help.
Hi there Mr Woodroffe, we only received further guidance on this additional funding from Government last night, so we are just working through the details of that and hope to issue something more useful for small businesses very soon. Kirstie
I have a small scuba diving ltd company that will not be able to open before July it looks like now. How can I apply to this new fund for support.
We use the local leisure centre and the beach for training so do not have business rates, so could not claim the small business grant. The whole start to our year has been lost.
Hi Rob, we are hoping to be able to invite businesses to apply online as soon as we have worked through the further guidance which we only got from Government yesterday. We will share information as soon as we have it, on our social media channels, through our business e-newsletter and via the press. Kirstie.
Thanks for your reply Kirstie, I look forward to finding out more about this fund asap.
Have you invited businesses to apply for discretionary grant? Where can we register business interest. Our ltd company has not been able to get other funds as we do not own premises, we operate as site work.
Hi Louise,
We’re aiming for the form to be ready online early next week. We’ll advertise on our social channels, on our website and through the press.
thanks, Kirstie
Hello,
I am sure you will acknowledge B&B has been hit hard. Following the two quietest months of the year, enforced closure in March was a disaster!
We have paid all the regular bills that should be covered by the B&B income from savings. As there is no income there is nothing being put aside to cover the same bills that will come next year, that is a huge concern.
What’s left of our season is likely to be hit and miss, we would appreciate a little help!
Quiet Woman House B&B
Halstock
West Dorset
BA229RX
Hi Paul, We hope to release more information soon about the eligibility criteria and the amounts that can be claimed. At the moment we are still working through the guidance we were sent by Government last week which is helping us to firm up what the criteria will be and how much discretion we will have. Please bear with us while we work through that detail. In the meantime, do sign up for our business e-news as we’ll announce here when the application form is live. Sign up here https://dorsetcouncil.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c39535cf4f9d1ca66af8d2b44&id=bc36c80975
Thanks, Kirstie
I’m run a bridal makeup business which obviously all my work for the year has now been lost. Because I don’t own/operate a business premises will I not be eligible? I am unable to claim any other schemes either as the business is fairly new so only have filed one tax return
Hi Charlee, We hope to release more information soon. At the moment we are still working through the guidance we were sent by Government last week which is helping us to firm up what the criteria will be and how much discretion we will have. Please bear with us while we work through that detail. In the meantime, do sign up for our business e-news as we’ll announce here when the application form is live. Sign up here https://dorsetcouncil.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c39535cf4f9d1ca66af8d2b44&id=bc36c80975
Thanks, Kirstie
Any more info on how to apply for this grant?
Hi Antoine, We hope to release more information soon. At the moment we are still working through the guidance we were sent by Government last week which is helping us to firm up what the criteria will be and how much discretion we will have. Please bear with us while we work through that detail. In the meantime, do sign up for our business e-news as we’ll announce here when the application form is live. Sign up here https://dorsetcouncil.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c39535cf4f9d1ca66af8d2b44&id=bc36c80975
Thanks, Kirstie
I hope this help will not exclude any business that has applied for furlough payments. This help should be to ensure business itself stays afloat until it can recover, and that is separate from paying staff. Assuming this is the case, this news of discretionary fund is welcome news.
Hello,
Please could you let me know when this will be available to apply for?
Kind regards,
Abi
Hi Abi,
We’re aiming for early next week. We’ll advertise on our social channels, on our website and through the press.
thanks
Kirstie
We applied for the leisure grant and were ineligible as we are not the ratepayer directly (we pay rates inclusive rent), just wondered if we would be eligible for the discretionary grant? We are a popular tourist attraction closed in all this lovely weather and might not survive without grant assistance.
Hi Dawn, we’ll publish a full set of criteria next week along with details of how the process will work, but in the meantime have a look at http://www.gov.uk and search for ‘discretionary fund’ which might help clarify.
Hope this helps, Kirstie
Thanks Kirstie, very helpful. Having read the gov information I am hopeful we may qualify and will look out for info on applications next week.
Hi
This seems to be taking an awfully long time to sort out we are an event hire business and all events have been cancelled for this year please could we have an update on when we can apply for this as we were not able to apply for the rate based grant
Thanks
Mandy
Hi Mandy, As this article says, we only received advice from Central Govt on 13 May and we are launching the application process early next week. If you would like to be notified when this goes live please sign up for our business e-newsletter here https://dorsetcouncil.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c39535cf4f9d1ca66af8d2b44&id=bc36c80975
Thanks, Kirstie
Hi,
I am a private hire driver have any provisions been made for us,
Please see the eligibility criteria on this page. https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/emergencies-severe-weather/emergencies/coronavirus/business-and-employers/coronavirus-local-authority-discretionary-fund.aspx thanks, kirstie
Can small charities apply for this?
Im not sure, please have a look at the policy advice on this page https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/emergencies-severe-weather/emergencies/coronavirus/business-and-employers/coronavirus-local-authority-discretionary-fund.aspx
I ran a small Housekeeping business as a sole trader 2012-2017, in April 2017 I became a limited company however after 2yrs it transpired that I was better off as a sole trader so in April 2019 I folded the LTD company. This meant that I missed out on every aspect of the government schemes although I could furlough my staff which was a great help, but I have not had any money coming in since March, I am married with no dependents so I was not entitled to Universal Credit or any other benefit. I am now in debt and even though I am starting my business back up from June 8th, due to social distancing and having to enter people’s homes our workload has reduced greatly and will continue like that for a long time. Will I qualify for this additional funding?
Can a business apply out of time application if delayed to apply due to exceptional circumstances?
Please if you could provide the email address or contact number to contact about this. I have been running business on same location for last 15 years.
Hi, please contact discretionarybusinessgrants@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk asap.
Thanks, Kirstie
Hi Kirstie,
Have councils been allocated any funding for further discretionary grants in this current lockdown? I have a small Ltd company and have been entitled to no other help.