Issue - meetings

Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) – Discretionary Grants Scheme Phase 1

Meeting: 02/12/2020 - Executive (Item 59)

59 Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) – Discretionary Grants Scheme Phase 1 pdf icon PDF 318 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

That:

 

1)            the Wokingham Borough Council’s Additional Restrictions Grant - Discretionary Grants Scheme Phase 1 policy, relating to the Covid 19 pandemic as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, be approved;

 

2)            authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Lead Member for Finance and Housing, to make minor amendments to the Policy as required for future phases.

Minutes:

The Executive considered a report relating to a proposed policy for Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) – Discretionary Grants Scheme Phase 1.

 

During his introduction the Executive Member for Finance and Housing highlighted that Additional Restrictions Grant funding in the sum of £3.4m had been awarded to the Council, which would be administered via a phased approach until March 2022 with £400k being made available immediately to fund Phase 1 of the Discretionary Grant Scheme.  This would cover businesses which had been impacted by the national lockdown restrictions which had been in force from 5 November-2 December 2020.

 

Councillor Kaiser advised that the remaining £3m would be used to support businesses through to March 2022, predominantly in the form of future discretionary grant schemes or phases.  This discretionary scheme would supplement the mandatory scheme of £1.4m of which over £500k had already been paid out to those businesses which had been mandated to close under the national lockdown restrictions.

 

In response to a query from Councillor Batth, about where there was any contingency built in if more funds were required, Councillor Kaiser confirmed that unfortunately the Government had made it clear that the £3.4m was expected to last until March 2022 even if more lockdowns were imposed.

 

RESOLVED that:

 

1)               the Wokingham Borough Council’s Additional Restrictions Grant - Discretionary Grants Scheme Phase 1 policy, relating to the Covid 19 pandemic as set out in Appendix 1 of the report be approved.

 

2)               authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Lead Member of Finance and Housing, to make minor amendments to the Policy as required for future phases.