County Council to aid businesses in recovery from Covid-19 impact

BUSINESSES across the Staffordshire Moorlands continue to receive the backing of the county council and its partners through a range of targeted initiatives to combat the impact of Covid-19.

With latest out-of-work claimant figures standing at 5.1 per cent of the local population, the county council’s work in supporting businesses and people whose jobs may be at risk has never been more important. The regional figure is 7.4 per cent and the national stands at 6.6 per cent.

A select committee report being discussed this week highlights the support interventions put in place by the county council and its partners, including the local enterprise partnership and national Government.

They include a £500,000 emergency grant scheme for micro businesses, a £360,000 fund for start-up businesses, a PPE starter pack programme that has delivered 1,000 items of PPE for micro businesses and cancelling delayed rent payments at enterprise centres.

This is in addition to £143m made available to businesses by the Government through district and borough councils for small businesses, a countywide redundancy task group made up of 20 organisations and the national Job Retention Scheme.

Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader

Philip White said: “Although Staffordshire businesses have proved to be resilient during Covid-19 the virus continues to impact on our economy and these interventions are vital in supporting businesses and people’s jobs.

“We want our communities to be assured that the council is working hard to support jobs and businesses in Staffordshire.”