Funding for the scheme comes from central government as part of their business support measures in response to the outbreak. 

Cumbrian Councils, including Allerdale Borough Council, have been working together since the initial announcement of the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund to develop a similar approach to ensure any schemes offered are coherent throughout Cumbria. 

Although each of the Councils have been provided with differing sums of finance, the intention has been clear from each Council and their Elected Members that the aim must be to support the largest number of businesses possible within the funding provided whilst still adhering to the Government’s set criteria.

Central Government has set down key criteria for businesses to be able to access the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund. Eligible businesses must:

• Have been trading on the 11th March 2020
• Have not have been eligible or received a grant from the existing Covid grant schemes or other support schemes (excluding the Self-employed Income Support Scheme).  

The initial guidance provided by government excluded those businesses that were eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme but through continued local and national representation by Councils and partners, the criteria of the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund was amended on the 23 May to include such businesses.

In addition to the eligibility criteria, the Government has outlined that the grants are primarily and predominantly aimed at the following businesses:  

• Small or Micro businesses
• Businesses with relatively high ongoing fixed property-related costs. 
• Businesses which can demonstrate that they have suffered a significant fall in income due to the COVID-19 crisis. 
• Businesses which occupy property, or part of a property, with a rateable value or annual rent or annual mortgage payments below £51,000 (where a rateable value exists this will be the figure used). 

The guidance on the Fund has set down that the grants can be allocated in amounts of £25,000, £10,000 or the Local Authority has discretion on any amounts they wish to provide under £10,000. Given the limited funding being made available it is unlikely that any of the Councils will award many, if any, grants of £25,000 as this would quickly deplete the Fund and may mean a larger number of businesses going without much needed money.

A spokesperson on behalf of the Cumbrian Councils said: “We are genuinely grateful that Central Government has enabled local Councils to be able to support their areas with further business grants, in Cumbria alone, we have provided grants totalling over £160 million since the pandemic struck. It’s also reassuring to know that Government has listened and acted upon our and our partners’ calls to include those businesses who may have not met the criteria for the scheme.  Initially ruling out those who were eligible for the Self-employed Income Support Scheme could have led to many of our most affected businesses missing out through no fault of their own. 

Unfortunately we realise that a number of our businesses may still not be eligible and the finance provided won’t support all those in need and we will continue our dialogue with Government to ensure our Cumbrian businesses get the vital help they need.”

Businesses can find more details on the scheme on the council’s website

Online applications for the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund provided through Allerdale Borough Council will open on Monday, 1 June. The online form will be available on the same page of the website.

Applications will be open for a full two weeks and applicants will need to submit their application before 5pm Monday, 15 June. Applications will close at this point. 

Once the two week window has closed, applications will be assessed with funding prioritised and paid out to businesses as soon as possible.