Chesterfield Borough Council defends delays in 'lifeline' payments to small businesses during coronavirus lockdown

Chesterfield Borough Council has paid out more than £16.3m to 1,424 Chesterfield businesses in order to support them through the Covid-19 outbreak.

However, this is only just over half of the £27,698,000 allocated to the borough by central Government.

Neighbouring North East Derbyshire District Council has paid out about 80 per cent of the initial allocation it received.

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Business leaders say there is a real concern some companies may have ‘fallen through the cracks’.

Michael Watkinson, Federation of Small Businesses development manager, said: “We want to help councils in any way we can to support our local members, who are eligible to receive the grants, in getting the money as soon as possible.

“It will be a lifeline for small businesses struggling in north Derbyshire with the knock-on effect of Coronavirus across a range of sectors including hospitability.

“We would ask the councils to now publish the business names of those entitled to the grants online as a way of engaging with them if they have fallen through the cracks.”

Councillor Terry Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for economic growth, said the authority was doing everything possible to speed up the process.

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“The business rates team are working hard to process applications as fast as possible, including working in the evening and at weekends,” he said.

“We have focused on paying grants to those businesses who have provided us with evidence that they are eligible for the payment, and we are now making contact directly with those businesses where more information is needed before we can pay the grant to them.

“We will continue to update the public with the amount we have paid out. You can find out more about business grants on our website.”

As of April 20, North East Derbyshire District Council had paid out £15,150,000 of its allocation of £19,690,000 – described as an ‘amazing achievement’ by council leader, Coun Martin Thacker.

He added: “Since receiving £20m from the Government earlier this month to give out as grants to small businesses and those in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors, I’m delighted to say that we have paid out 80 per cent of the allocation for our area.

“This amazing achievement means we are now ranked in the top ten per cent of all 314 local authorities regarding grants paid to date, something we are very proud of indeed.

“We are still waiting for some businesses, who have been advised they are eligible for a grant, to contact us with their bank details, so we can make payment. So I’d encourage them to get in touch with us straight away.

“For those businesses not eligible for a grant, we may still be able to offer other support, so would also encourage them to make contact with the Council to see what help is available.”

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