The Government has confirmed that Wirral Council can provide an additional £2.7m of grants to shops and local businesses to help them with the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The announcement, made on Wednesday by the Business Secretary, means that many of the businesses which were not eligible for the first grants of £10,000 or even £25,000 could be helped this time.
Councillor Tom Anderson (Conservative, Greasby, Frankby, Irby Ward) said: “So far, almost 4,000 shops and small businesses in Wirral have been helped with the grants from the Government and Wirral Council has done a great job to get the money out to those who applied so quickly.
“However, we know there are still some businesses that were unable to apply first time round.
“The Government’s decision to allow councils more discretion over how to meet the needs of those businesses will help us do even more to protect our local economy.”
The Government has asked that priority is given to certain groups of small businesses that are ineligible for current support, such as small businesses that share workspace, eligible charities, B&Bs who pay Council Tax, and regular market traders.
Councillor Anderson added: “Over the next few days, the Council will be finalising the criteria for how this £2.7 million can be used to support businesses – I’d urge anyone who wants to know more to check out the Council’s website next week.”
