Latest Covid-19 support grants payments begin with £6m paid to 1,700 businesses

A further round of support for businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic has opened and 1,700 Pembrokeshire businesses will receive their share of the first £6m this week.

The Welsh Government has announced an extension of the Restrictions Business Fund to provide a payment for businesses affected by the national Covid-19 restrictions up to the end of March 2021.

The Restrictions Business Fund Top Up will be administered by Pembrokeshire County Council and a payment run of 1,700 grants will be made today (Thursday 11^th February).

The automated payments are for businesses that pay Non Domestic Rates (NDR) that previously received a grant under the Restrictions Business Fund and/or the grant to cover the Firebreak period.

If an automated payment has not been received by Monday 15^th February, businesses are asked to please apply (see details below).

The following grants are available for non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses.

Businesses with a rateable value of £12,000 or under will be eligible to receive a payment of £3,000.

Businesses with a rateable value between £12,001 and £150,000 will be eligible to receive a payment of £5,000.

The Welsh Government is also extending the £5,000 grant through to businesses with a rateable value of up to £500,000.

Supply chain businesses will be able to apply for support if they have had a reduction in turnover of more than 40%.

The Welsh Government has also confirmed that a new discretionary grant for businesses who are not on the NDR register (limited companies with a turnover of between £10,000 and £50,000 and sole traders / partnerships with a turnover less than £85,000) is being made available.

This has been introduced to support businesses and sole traders that have been directly impacted by the additional restrictions put in place to control the spread of Covid-19

This scheme will continue to be application based.

The Discretionary Restrictions Extension Grant opens for applications on Friday, 12^th February.

The criteria and application process for both grants can be found at: https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/business-advice-and-support

The webpage also includes a handy FAQ on the grants available as well as other support in place to aid businesses through the Covid-19 pandemic.

If you have a query or question relating to the grants, please email covid19businesssupport@pembrokeshire.gov.uk 

Businesses are kindly asked to be patient after applying for grants. The team will update customers once their application has been processed.

Councillor Paul Miller, the Cabinet Member for Economy, Tourism, Leisure and Culture, said: “My thanks go to the team who have worked incredibly hard to get this vital money out to Pembrokeshire businesses as soon as possible.”