Covid-19 Business Support Grants

Businesses are sometimes entitled to Rates reliefs or could even be exempt from rate paying depending upon their circumstances.

The recent Government COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF) is to support those businesses affected by the pandemic but that are ineligible for existing support linked to business rates. Doncaster’s share of the allocation is £5,314,419 and this will be distributed to qualifying ratepayers in the form of a business rates relief for the financial year 21/22.

In line with the Government guidance the following exclusions apply;

• ratepayers who for the same period of the relief either are or would have been eligible for the Extended Retail Discount (covering Retail, Hospitality and Leisure), the Nursery Discount or the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS),
•  unoccupied properties (other than those which have become closed temporarily due to the government’s advice on COVID-19, which should be treated as occupied for the purposes of this relief).

The Digital Innovation Grant (DIG) programme supports Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in South Yorkshire to develop their use of digital technology. By exploiting digital technologies, businesses can access new markets, promote their products and services more effectively and develop new cost-effective ways of working.

The scheme will enhance the digital capabilities of SMEs by raising the confidence of SMEs in using digital technology and will support them to increase their levels of productivity and competitiveness to achieve business growth.

DIG will be delivered through a competitive process, rather than first come first served. Following a call for applications, completed applications will be assessed for eligibility then ranked according to a number of economic and inclusive growth indicators. The grant funding will be available for up to 50% of the value of an investment, with a minimum award of £1,000 up to a maximum of £5,000.

Applicants can apply via a web portal that will manage the process from start to end and give clarity to both the applicants and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, allowing all parties to see where each application is in the process and its current status.

Applications for the fifth round of DIG funding closed at midnight Friday 15th of July 2022. The next application window is planned to open on at 09:00 Monday 5th September 2022.

The Grant Assessment Panel will assess applications by Friday the 5th of August, and applicants should receive their acceptance/rejection confirmation by Friday the 19th of August.

It is planned that applications will open again in September 2022 and November 2022 at the discretion of BMBC and subject to available funding. Future calls for applications will also be open for two weeks.