East Devon business coronavirus grants update

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Business grants update from Councillor Paul Hayward, East Devon District Council's Portfolio Holder for Economy and Assets:

As a Council we are keen to provide as much support as possible to businesses that have been impacted by the periods of both local and national restrictions.  I am pleased to say that as of 11th February, we have paid out over £13.3m in total since national restrictions began on the 5th November 2020.

For the national restrictions from 5 January 2021, more than £10m has been paid to 1,515 businesses  since the schemes known as LRSG (C) Addendum & CBLP schemes went live. In addition, for the national restrictions from 5 November to 1 December, £2.4m has been paid to over 1,600 businesses for the LRSG (C) Addendum scheme.

I realise that the different grant schemes and time periods to which they apply can be confusing.  We have been working to try and simplify the application process and transition to rolling payments where possible.  You can see details of the schemes that are currently live at eastdevon.gov.uk/business-grants

I particularly want to highlight that we are intending to reopen the discretionary grant scheme (the Additional Restrictions Grant - ARG) for applications on the 18th February.  We approved 137 applications in the first round which related to November’s national restrictions.  Applicants from the first round will be automatically notified when the scheme reopens and I would encourage other businesses to check the criteria to see whether they are eligible. This particularly applies to businesses unable to claim LRSG (Closed) Addendum for the current national restrictions period. 

Please be sure to read the eligibility guidance outlined for relevant grants online before contacting us, as this will help us to process grant payments as quickly as possible. If essential, please only contact us after reading this online information: email businessrates@eastdevon.gov.uk for LRSG/CBLP queries or arg@eastdevon.gov.uk for Additional Restriction Grant queries.

Covid measures in place

adapt and thrive

Your business can Adapt and Thrive

As part of East Devon District Council's 'Adapt & Thrive' programme, this FREE workshop series will give you valuable tools and strategies to review your business, improve your processes and develop new plans. The programme includes a series of professional development workshops aimed at helping businesses in East Devon to become more productive and to make the most of digital technology. Different workshops are available to established businesses and those looking to start their first business and can be accompanied by additional 1-to-1 business consultancy. Sign up for free.

Join our workshops 


Coming to the UK for seasonal agricultural work on English farms

fruit picking

Important advice in six languages is a must read for seasonal agricultural workers coming to England to pick fruit and vegetables on farms, and their employers. This information has been updated with a link to the countries from which travel to the UK is banned. 

Coming to the UK for seasonal agricultural work on English farms - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Image credit: Dave_LZ | Pixabay


National Apprenticeship Week

building site

This week is National Apprenticeship Week and the theme is ‘Build the Future’: Train, Retain and Achieve.

Apprenticeships provide a key route into the construction industry. Share your apprenticeship stories on social media to inspire others, using #NAW2021.

Check out Building Greater Exeter's short video to inspire the future workforce

Be inspired and visit Building Great Exeter's case studies and view their Apprenticeship Playlist YouTube.

In the latest edition of Building Greater Exeter's Industry Update February 2021, you can read about the work of construction students at a new, three-storey teaching block at
Exmouth Community College, worth £15.6m. 


Changes to the Kickstart Scheme

There have been some important changes to the Kickstart Scheme. Kickstart provides funding to employers to create job placements for 16-24 year olds on universal credit. From 3 February, employers can apply directly to the Kickstart scheme for any number of job placements and the threshold for 30 job placements has been removed. You can also choose to apply through a Kickstart gateway, including those supporting sole traders. Read the full press release online and see the Kickstart page for specific information for employers.