Coronavirus: Telford & Wrekin Council ranks among top authorities in supporting businesses financially

Government figures published this week show the council has awarded and paid 82 per cent of the grant applications it can receive from borough businesses – the 13th highest percentage figure nationally and the highest figure in the region.

More than 2,000 applications have been approved totalling more than £23 million for business support grants, from small businesses and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.

See also:

• Coronavirus: Live updates as death toll in England rises to 16,272

• Shropshire coronavirus: Who is supporting your community and how you can help

The council said its revenues team has been working hard to approve this number of business grant applications since receiving the funding from the government at the start of April.

The council added applications are continuing to be processed as quickly as possible, so borough businesses can get much-needed support during the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes after the Government announced at the end of March a series of business grants available and the council has been supporting and assisting eligible businesses to apply for them.

This is in addition to a number of other support measures available for borough businesses, including the deferral of payment of business rates, all of which can be found on the council’s website.

Council leader Shaun Davies said: “Being in the top 15 English councils for the highest percentage of business grants approved is really something to be proud of and an acknowledgement of our teams’ hard work to support businesses during this challenging time.

“I’ve also written to Chancellor of the Exchequer to highlight our efforts of processing grant applications to get payments to businesses as quickly as possible but also to flag our concerns and ask for support, as some businesses are unable to access the support they need through the Government’s existing business interventions.

“We encourage all businesses to keep up-to-date with a range of local measures to support them as well as with the Government measures, on our website."

In total, the authority expects that about 2,400 businesses could be eligible to apply for grants and any business that thinks that they meet the government’s strict criteria and has yet to apply can do so online at telford.gov.uk/businessgrants