Discretionary Business Grant Fund extended

Published

9th March 2021

Changes to a discretionary grant scheme supporting businesses experiencing significant financial challenges will include an almost three-fold funding boost.

Additional money enhancing the Discretionary Business Grant Fund pot in Dundee to £1.5m from the original £500,000, increases support available to businesses that have received limited financial support since October.

Mark Flynn convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee said: “By the end of this month we expect to have paid out a considerable amount of the initial £500,000 allocation via grants of £2000 per business.

“But as the effects of the pandemic continue and other funding streams become available to various sectors this increase in funding will help those businesses in Dundee that might otherwise slip through the net.

“There are very specific criteria that need to be met for getting help from the Discretionary Business Grant Fund, specifically that they have been directly impacted by restrictions on other firms, for example those in the supply chain or those that have been more generally affected by reduced footfall, as well as businesses without premises who have therefore been ineligible for previous grants.”

The grants to business will be met through an allocation awarded by the Scottish Government to Dundee City Council for operation and delivery of the scheme.

Under the revised scheme the one-off flat payment of £2000 will be replaced with a tiered payment structure of a one-off £4000 for sole traders with no additional employees, a payment of £6000 for those who can evidence employment of between one and nine staff and a payment of £10,000 for those who can show they employ 10 or more staff.

There will also be specific support for taxi operating companies who may not employ staff directly but can evidence high fleet maintenance costs. They will be eligible for the higher grant of £10,000.

Existing applicants do not need to reapply and will be contacted to establish if they wish to receive a top-up payment.

The fund will continue to be targeted at businesses that have not benefited from other support introduced since October and will be restricted to one grant per business and per applicant.

More information on the scheme and how to apply can be found at: https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/service-area/city-development/dundee-covid-19-discretionary-business-grant 

Dundee City Council

Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.

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