Council leader writes to ministers calling for more business support

Councillor Shaun Davies has expressed concerns about the amount of businesses who are finding it difficult to access the support they need during the current crisis.

He is calling on the Government to address the "gaps in support" including in relation to cash flow, loans and business grants.

In his letter addressed to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Councillor Davies said: "We are writing to express our concerns at the number of local businesses who are finding they are unable to access the support that they need through the existing government business interventions."

Councillor Davies said since the outset of the crisis, the council has engaged with over 3,000 local businesses with more continuing to contact its hotline daily.

"To date we have received over 2,400 applications for business grants and have processed 94 per cent of these. We have approved around 90 per cent of the applications processed and have already distributed over £23 million," he said.

"However, from the feedback we are hearing from businesses of all sizes and across sectors there are significant gaps in the current support offer and this is meaning real hardship for many.

"This will ultimately mean not only businesses that will fail and consequent unemployment and damage to the economy, but is already leaving local people across our communities struggling to support their families, vulnerable and reliant on public support.

"We ask that the Government consider what further measures can be taken to address the gaps in support and to do so quickly."

In terms of cash flow, Councillor Davies said this was a "critical" issue for businesses and interventions need to be in place as quickly as possible.

"Many businesses who are already eating into their savings cannot wait two to three months for money to flow."

In regards to loan finance, he believes this is not the answer for the majority of businesses.

"Many already have loans in place and with the impact of Covid-19 and uncertainty of how long restrictions will be in place they simply cannot afford to take on more debt."

Councillor Davies also said while the council has approved 90 per cent of applications for business grants, there are still many who are being denied grants predominantly because the rateable value of their premises are above the government's defined limit.

"We are in unprecedented times and we want to work with the Government and our local MPs to ensure that the economy – locally and nationally – remains as resilient as possible and that we do all we can to protect our business base now to aid recovery. We ask that the issues raised are addressed swiftly to provide the necessary tools to achieve this," he added.