PR Date: Tuesday, 7 April 2020 - 2:45pm
The Council has identified those businesses likely to qualify under one of the above schemes and notified those business by email or by post, requesting they complete an on-line form in so we can identify eligibility and process the payments.
The original Government guidance on Business Grants required an application to be made to minimise fraud, yet subsequent guidance has been revised to say that awards can be made without an application form. However, we will be asked to prove we have made these payments to the correct businesses and the completion of an application form is the only way that this can be achieved.
Whilst the vast majority of the Council’s records are accurate, there may be some instances where we have not been advised of new occupants and unless we have a check process in place, it is possible that Grants could be paid to the wrong recipient.
We are also asking for the application form to be completed because in many cases we don’t have the bank details to enable payments to be made quickly and efficiently through the banking system.
Where a business has paid its 2019/2020 Business Rates by Direct Debit, we can be fairly certain that they are the correct Ratepayer and so we will be looking to pay these automatically, but we would still prefer it if they complete the on-line form for the reasons outlined. Anyone not paying their rates by Direct Debit must complete the on-line form so we can obtain their bank details.
In terms of timing, at the moment likely timescales are:
|
03/04/2020 |
Delivery of software solution to identify potential recipients. We need this to cross reference with our own extract to ensure that we have not missed any businesses |
|
03/04/2020 to 09/04/2020 |
Inputting of bank details from on-line forms |
|
09/04/2020 |
Delivery of software to enable payments to be made |
|
09/04/2020 onwards |
Processing of payments |
The processing of the payments will be dependent on testing of the software, which we expect will be minimal. Payments should start hitting business bank accounts in the days immediately after the return from the Easter break.
Businesses are encouraged to complete the on-line form where we have been in touch with them. So far 835 (as of 06/04/2020) have been completed.
You can find out more information and a link to the application form on our Coronavirus: help for businesses page.
Get the latest news by email
You can subscribe to get news and service updates by email. It's free, you can choose which topics you’re interested in and you can unsubscribe at any time.