Grants totalling just over £48 million have been distributed to businesses in Ipswich impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in the last two years by Ipswich Borough Council.
Figures show that the Council paid out £41,890,200 in Covid-19 business support grants during the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2022 to support businesses in retail, hospitality or leisure and small businesses.
A further 133 businesses received initial COVID-19 Business Support Grants between 1 April 2020 and 28 August 2020, totalling £1,245,383.
And between November 2020 and 31 March 2022, £4,974,409.97 was also granted to closed businesses that suffered significant financial impact as a result of Covid-19 in the hospitality and leisure sector; independent retailers; licensed taxi drivers or private hire drivers; Ofsted registered nurseries plus other businesses that suffered hardship during the 2020 lockdown period.
Ipswich Borough Council received Government funding as part of the national response to Covid-19 and was tasked with passing this on to businesses in the form of discretionary grants, Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG) and mandatory Government grants.
Figures in a report to the Ipswich Borough Council Executive meeting on Friday 6 September show that these grants have been delivered through at least 12 different schemes in several phases, benefitting hundreds of local businesses to date.
Councillor David Ellesmere, Ipswich Borough Council Leader and Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Property, says:
“These grants have proved a vital lifeline for Ipswich businesses hit by the economic effects of Covid-19.
“It has taken a lot of hard work by the Council’s staff to ensure that these grants were paid out and I know from the messages we’ve received how much local businesses have appreciated this.”
Details are available in the Report available here. From Page 61.
