By NELC to release £4.5 million funding for eligible businesses impacted by Covid
NELC is set to release and distribute the new £4.5-million funding to help businesses hit by the Covid pandemic.
North East Lincolnshire Council will distribute £4.5-million to eligible local businesses as part of the Government’s Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund.
The Government created the £1.5-billion fund to support businesses affected by the pandemic but not eligible for existing business rate support. Cabinet members met on 8 September to discuss a report about the fund and how it will be distributed.
The council will distribute the money in the form of business rate relief refunds for the tax year 2021/22, outside the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, which previously benefited from similar relief.
The government guidance says the council must ‘provide direct support to business ratepayers who have been adversely affected by the pandemic and have been unable to adequately adapt to the impact.’
Funding will not be given to ratepayers eligible for other certain relief, and to unoccupied properties (unless temporarily closed due to Covid).
The Council will use data from the Office for National Statistics, the Valuation Office Agency, and its own records to identify the businesses most affected by the pandemic and apply for relief directly to their business rates accounts.
Councillor Stephen Harness, portfolio holder for Finance, Resources, and Assets, said:
“This additional support is excellent news for businesses in our area who were hit by the pandemic but weren’t eligible for other types of business rate relief.
“We expect 770 businesses in North East Lincolnshire will benefit from the £4.5-million support package.
“More information will be made available to eligible businesses in the coming weeks.”
