Agenda item

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk advising them of decisions taken under urgency or delegated authority powers since the last meeting. 

Members noted the specific action taken in relation to the COVID Business Recovery Fund (‘the Fund’) and the extension of application deadlines, querying whether there was scope to reconsider some of the other eligibility requirements. This was particularly in view of the refusal of some landlords to grant any rent forgiveness in certain cases, thereby blocking businesses from applying for grant from the Fund. It was noted that the Fund’s Member Sounding Board would be meeting tomorrow so there would be an opportunity to discuss this and any other emerging issues.

A Member expressed concern as to the interpretation of aspects of the eligibility criteria, particularly the issue of rent deferral (rather than write-off), which it was argued still represented a significant financial concession on the part of landlords. The Member urged that a pragmatic view be taken, particularly with conditional grants being made to encourage further discussion and concessions from landlords.

Other Members spoke against the treatment of deferral as being akin to write-off, noting that the purpose of the criteria was to get landlords to share the financial hardships caused through COVID with their tenants. Whilst there was a strong desire to commit as much of the Fund as possible, to support businesses and keep the City thriving, there was a risk that encouraging deferral would simply mean the grants in some cases simply going straight on to the landlord and not materially benefiting the business itself in terms of medium- or long-term survival. Therefore, while flexibility was important, it was suggested that a hard-line insistence on rent forgiveness as a condition of support remained appropriate.

In relation to applications to date, it was confirmed that some businesses had applied via the wrong process but that, in each instance, they were advised of the correct alternative route to access relevant funds. Many businesses had reapplied successfully following such communications. Officers had also emailed over 1000 businesses following the recent application deadline extension to advise they may now be eligible to apply.

In response to a query concerning available sources of advice for prospective applicants, officers outlined the online tools and the telephone support lines for those who preferred to seek assistance orally.

It was noted that any changes to the Scheme following Sounding Board discussions would require the approval of the Policy & Resources Committee, likely under urgency procedures in view of the relevant timescales.

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its content noted.