Ashfield MP welcomes cash being made available for businesses struggling through Covid-19

It now means small businesses including those in rented offices and market traders, will be able to apply for grants of £10,000 up to £25,000 to help with running costs and cash flow.Lee Anderson was one of a number of MPs who had written to the Secretaries of State Robert Jenrick MP and Alok Sharma MP, on behalf of the many small businesses in the area which had failed to meet existing criteria to qualify for grants.

Mr Anderson said: “I wrote to the Chancellor recently to thank him for all the fantastic measures he has put in place to protect small businesses during these difficult times, but I also felt that I had to advise that some that some businesses in Ashfield and Eastwood were missing out on the excellent support that the Government had offered through the small business grant.

“That included businesses which are in shared offices and regular market traders who were forced to close. As usual the Chancellor has stepped up to the mark, as he did when he made changes to the job retention scheme, and has added in more organisations who will be able to claim grant aid of up to £25,000.”“Cash will now be given to local councils who will be able to decide on grants of £10k up to £25k, the priority of all the grants schemes continues to be to help the smallest businesses, particularly those which are facing significant property-related costs and operate in sectors which have been particularly hard hit by the steep decline in customers.”“We may have flattened out the curve with the Coronavirus, but we still need to make sure we have a country to come back to and that this latest measure will help business here in Ashfield and Eastwood bounce back as soon as the restrictions are lifted”.