Shropshire Council gave more than £160m in Covid support grants for businesses

Shropshire Council's cabinet will receive an update on the final position regarding pandemic Covid grant support, when it meets on Wednesday.

A report outlining the impact of the support highlights that a total £164m of grant funding went to businesses across Shropshire, with 32,939 individual grant payments during programmes between April 2020 and March 2022.

The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG), which formed a proportion of the grant programme, provided Shropshire Council with £12,766,827 of funds, with a proportion used for a broader business support programme totalling £2,928,383 of the pot.

Councillor Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council's portfolio holder for growth, regeneration and housing, said the money had made a real difference to businesses across the county.

He said: “The positive impacts this funding has had upon real people and their businesses is astonishing.

"During one of the most challenging times modern businesses have faced, it is brilliant to hear some of the resounding success stories that highlight the resilience of the business community.

"Congratulations to those businesses who managed to survive and thrive during times of struggle and thank you to the Shropshire Council economic growth team who helped to deliver this scheme."

The support came as a number of businesses first faced shut-down due to lockdown, and were then only allowed to operate on a restricted basis as varying rules were relaxed, and then toughened over the course of the two years.

The council report outlines the scale of the support, adding: "In total Shropshire Council delivered business grants across 15 mandated programmes, with eligibility criteria and terms set out by Government.

"Whilst each grant programme had its own terms, values and timelines for delivery, they were generally made available to businesses in the retail, hospitality, personal care, leisure and accommodation sectors, although latter schemes in 2022 did not award funding to businesses in the retail or personal care sectors.

"These were delivered alongside seven discretionary grant programmes, with eligibility criteria and terms set out by Shropshire Council based on local demand and need.

"In total across all of these 22 business grant programmes, Shropshire Council delivered £164,122,313 of grant funding to businesses across Shropshire, making 32,939 individual grant payments during programmes between April 2020 and March 2023."