The Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government has today (30 July 2020) announced £20 million of new government funding to help small and medium sized businesses recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 will be issued to help businesses access new technology and other equipment as well as professional, legal, financial or other advice to help them get back on track.
The support will be fully funded by the government from the England European Regional Development Fund and distributed through Growth Hubs, embedded in local areas across England. To establish a viable grant programme, the Government have set a minimum of £250,000 for all Local Enterprise Partnership areas. The allocation of resources will be reviewed as the grant fund is delivered.
The news comes on top of an unprecedented package of Government support to help businesses to recover, including the £2 billion Kickstart Scheme which will create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across the country, as well as £1.6 billion invested in scaling up employment support schemes, training and apprenticeships to help people looking for a job.