More money coming to help businesses survive fire-break

CITY businesses are set to get millions of pounds more of support to help tide them through the Welsh Government Covid19 ‘fire-break’.

First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that hospitality, gym and leisure businesses in Wales will have to close for more than two weeks, starting at 6pm tomorrow.

Swansea Council has handed out around £100m to local businesses over the last six months to help them protect jobs and livelihoods.

Now it has pledged to do all it can to ensure financial support reaches businesses quickly and has worked with the Welsh Government to make the process as simple as possible.

Welsh Government Economy Minister Ken Skates said this week that it was planned that funds would open for applications next week and it was working with local government to push through a new wave of the Economic Resilience Fund worth £300m across Wales.

In addition to that, there will be grants schemes on offer through the council to help those businesses most in need.

Businesses will also be able to access the UK Government’s Job Support Scheme which will become available when its furlough scheme ends later this month.

Cllr Rob Stewart, leader of Swansea Council, said that measures announced by the First Minister are still being finalised but include grant payments of £1,000 for businesses that are liable to pay rates for premises with a rateable value of £12,000 or less and are eligible for Small Business Rates Relief.

Other details we know of so far:

A further £1,000 grant for businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief that have been subject to local lockdown restrictions for 21 days or more up to October 23.

An additional £2,000 top-up grant for businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief that have been forced to close as a result of the fire-break lockdown. ■ Payments of up to £5,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses that are required to close and which occupy a property with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £50,000.

Cllr Stewart said: “We urge people to be patient because the Welsh Government is still finalising a range of measures. The First Minister said he hoped the schemes would be open for businesses to make applications by next week with payments made within 30 days.

“We will be doing our very best to make payments before that deadline and will use the information we already hold from the last round of business rates grants to make the process as fast and simple as possibles.”

The latest support for business comes after businesses rates for 2,000 of the most-affected city businesses were scrapped for the current financial year, benefiting them to the tune of £35m in total.

Over the last six months more than £50m in grants has been shared among 4,000 businesses to help keep them going and shops, hairdressers, gyms, restaurants, cafés and more received cash payouts of up to £25,000.

Cllr Stewart said: “In these difficult times it is vital that we support businesses with the funding they need. We can get through this together.

“The fire-break is designed to control the spread of the virus and to bring it down to more manageable levels in the countdown to Christmas and as the NHS goes into its critical winter period.”

For more about business support from the Welsh Government go to: https:// businesswales. gov. wales/ coronavirusadvice/