Loadsamoney – Somerset pays out
By the third week of April the government had distributed £12.3bn to local authorities in England as part of the Small Business Grants Scheme. And for once we have to say Somerset’s local authorities were all over this like a rash. The government money was given to local councils to distribute in the form of grants to businesses, mostly smaller businesses, to support them through the coronavirus outbreak. The focus of the grants was to help the tourism and hospitality businesses in particular.
So it is perhaps not surprising to see that of the £775million paid out to over 65,000 businesses across the South West the largest sums to date have been paid over in Cornwall and Devon. However Somerset is not far behind.
- Cornwall – £201.5million
- Devon – £174.7million
- Somerset – £101.8million
- Gloucestershire – £85.7million
- Wiltshire – £73.6million
- Dorset – £67.4million
- Bristol – £53.3million
- South Gloucestershire – £16.6million
Of the Somerset money the amounts made available by government and the money distributed was as follows:
- Mendip: £32.7m available 14.3m paid 44% paid out
- Sedgemore £30.7m available £14.3m paid 46% paid out
- Somerset West & Taunton: £46.6m available 23.4m paid 50% paid out
- South Somerset £41.4m available £20.5m paid 49.5% paid out
Noting the large amounts still to be claimed, Alex Tudor of the Somerset Chambers of Commerce told us “if you pay business rates of less than £51,000 you can apply for a grant of £10,000 from your local authority. There is also an expanded scheme for the hospitality sector. Please check the terms to make sure you qualify.”
You can claim via your District Council as follows:
- Mendip https://www.mendip.gov.uk/businessrates
- Sedgemore https://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/COVID19grants
- SSDC https://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/forms/apply-for-something/business-support-grant-application/
- Somerset West & Taunton https://www.somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk/business-rates/business-grants-covid-19-response/