SMEs have less than a month to apply for grants in England

The FSB is advising SMEs to sign up for small business grants before the deadline comes around in less than a month.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is at the same time, also urging councils to ensure the speedy issuance of these funds, whether it be the Discretionary Grant Fund or the Small Business Grants Fund.

FSB National Chair, Mike Cherry, said “Small businesses have been through what for many has been and will be the most difficult period they have ever faced, and while things are slowly starting to improve, we’re not out of the woods yet.

“That is why we are making this call today for small firms to apply as soon as possible so that they don’t miss out on grant funding that could prevent a business from going under.

“But to access these funds, small firms rely on their local councils to distribute the money in a fast and timely manner.”

He added, “Every local authority will know that long before this crisis struck, small firms were already facing huge difficulties with major chains leaving high streets, rising business rates and soaring employment costs. This is why councils simply cannot afford to delay in getting these funds out to businesses.

“Many councils have already handed out more than 90 per cent of their Small Business Grants which is good to see, but that means that more money remains which needs to be handed out.

“For small businesses, councils and government, now is not the time to delay. With some sectors still struggling to reopen, lock lockdowns curtailing efforts by firms to get back to business and the spectre of a potential second wave of the virus, we must, we must act now and take the necessary steps needed to prop up small firms who are the backbone of the economy.”

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