To urgently seek approval to accept and spend the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding (£1.7m) January 2021 allocation from government, and, if funding conditions are met, to accept and spend the additional £1.791m ARG top up Restart Grant allocation to support businesses and charities affected by the continuing lockdown restrictions and their ongoing recovery. The principal funding condition to trigger the additional £1.791m allocation is the achievement of full spend of the existing £1.7m ARG allocation from January 2021.

That:

a)    The cabinet member for Environment, Economy and Skills approves the expenditure (£1,712,661) of government funding provided in January 2021 for the Covid 19 Herefordshire Additional Restrictions Grant Fund;

b)    The cabinet member for Environment, Economy and Skills approves the expenditure (£1,791,685) of government top up funding allocation for the Covid 19 Herefordshire Additional Restrictions Grant Fund;

c)    The cabinet member for Environment, Economy and Skills approves the approach to delivering the Additional Restrictions Grant scheme;

d)    To delegate to the Director for Economy and Place following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment, Economy and Skills and the Section 151 Officer the authority to vary the grant support for businesses in accordance with the national government guidance to be able to urgently respond to fast changing Covid 19 circumstances; and

e)    The Head of Economic Development and the Economic Development Manager be authorised to approve grant awards to businesses following satisfactory appraisal of the applications received (up to a value of £50,000 per business).

1.             Do nothing - to not deliver Additional Restrictions Grant Restart support and not spend the £1,712,661 of already received funding. Herefordshire businesses have been severely affected by Covid 19 and the impacts of the related lockdown periods. If we don’t approve the expenditure of the available funds, then local businesses would be unable to benefit from the national government support which may lead to business closures.  Not spending the existing £1,712m of Additional Restrictions Grant funds by 30 June 2021 would result in the council being ineligible for the further £1,791m of top up Additional Restrictions Grant funds.