If your business has suffered a loss of income as a result of Covid-19 then you may be able to apply for a one-off £4,000 discretionary grant.
If you applied for and received the previous sum on offer – £2,000 – then you will be paid a further £2,000 automatically to the same bank account. There is no need to reapply.
The application consists of a self-declaration of income in January and February in both 2020 and 2021. In February the council asked for applications for the £2.8 million Discretionary Funding allocated to Edinburgh by The Scottish Government. Grants at that time were an initial sum of £2,000 and that is now being doubled.
Applications are open now for four weeks or until the whole sum of £10 million has been allocated to businesses.
The funding is administered by The City of Edinburgh Council and is designed to help businesses in the capital retain staff.
Councillor Kate Campbell, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “This year has been incredibly difficult for businesses in our city, and we know how hard people have had to work to keep going. We now have £10 million available to help businesses in Edinburgh and we just want to get the funds out to them as quickly as possible.
“We want to make sure nobody’s missing their chance at accessing financial support so I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t already applied to visit the application page on our website, check the eligibility criteria, and apply today.”
Councillor Mandy Watt, Vice Convener said: “We know businesses have been hit desperately hard in this pandemic and it’s crucial that we’re able to get this funding into the accounts of everyone who’s eligible and who hasn’t been able to access previous schemes due to not meeting the criteria. Please apply today and let us give you the money you’re entitled to.”
Today’s launch of online applications marks the second phase of Discretionary Fund awards in 2021.
The Discretionary Grants fund is open to
- Limited Companies (including Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations and social enterprises)
- Sole Traders
- Trusts, Partnerships
- Community Interest Companies
- freelancers.
who have been forced to amend or close their operations as a direct result of legislation, OR are facing hardship as an indirect consequence of the current restrictions, but are ineligible for financial support through the Scottish Government-initiated funding.
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