FIRMS who have “fallen though the cracks” in government support during the Covid-19 pandemic can apply to Glasgow’s new business hardship fund.

City councillors have agreed to use £4.4m of discretionary funding from the Scottish Government on the new scheme.

It has been designed to pay out to companies who have not received any government cash since restrictions were introduced in October last year.

The scheme is set to go live on February 5 and will be open for two weeks.

There will be three levels of payments: £9000 for firms employing between 25 and 50 staff, £6000 for those with between 10 and 24 staff and £3000 for companies with nine workers or less.

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Council leader Susan Aitken said the fund would “support businesses who have fallen through the cracks up to this point”.

“That means it will provide financial hardship payments to businesses who have not received other government support since the brake restrictions programme in October 2020.”

She added: “While this is extremely welcome, the scale of the impact of the pandemic on businesses in Glasgow means that this is quite a bit less than what we are currently paying to businesses under the strategic fund.”

Throughout the pandemic, the city council has distributed funds on behalf of the Scottish Government, with more than £170m handed over to businesses.

A strategic business fund went live in November last year and over £8m had been paid out by the end of December.

Businesses who choose to close or operate in a restricted way, but are not required to by law, have been unable to receive money from that fund.

As a “result of the strict criteria”, many “businesses are falling through the cracks”, a council report states. Officers have rejected over 2850 applications.

Tory councillor Euan Blockley said his party welcomed the support package but questioned the “slow pace” of that money “actually hitting the bank accounts of those that desperately need it”.

“It’s very disappointing that it’s taken three months from the announcement to applications actually going live next month,” he said.

Labour councillor Soryia Siddique, who also welcomed the new fund, said her constituents had raised concerns about turnaround times and “frustrations” around communication from the council.

Ms Aitken said: “I believe it was absolutely right that time was taken to ensure we actually created a scheme that responded to issues in Glasgow, and particularly issues facing businesses in Glasgow who are not eligible for existing schemes.”

She said the plan also needed presented to councillors for “democratic scrutiny”.

“I don’t know if Councillor Blockley is suggesting officers should just have started paying out £4.4m willy-nilly, that does appear to be his implication.”

The council leader added, on an “operation of this scale”, there will “inevitably be some who fall through the cracks and don’t get exactly the service that they’d like first time”.

“I would urge elected members to refer these individuals to the business support department.”

The new grants will cover businesses in premises and on the non-domestic rates list as the eligible ratepayer, tenants and occupiers of premises operating a business who can provide a valid lease and self-employed and sole traders who do not qualify for any other schemes, who can demonstrate financial detriment in the last 12 months through audited accounts.

Applications from third sector organisations and social enterprises, who employ staff, will be considered.

Firms who have received support through other programmes will not be eligible for this fund.

That includes: the taxi and private hire driver support fund, newly self-employed hardship fund and the bed and breakfast/self-catering support fund.

Guidance will be supplied alongside the online application form on the council’s website.