South and Vale businesses urged to sign up to mailing list for the latest news on financial support

Businesses in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse are being urged to sign up to the South and Vale Business Support mailing list to ensure they keep up to date with the latest news about the financial support available to them during the ongoing restrictions.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are currently administering a number of government-funded support grants which cover the periods during national lockdowns and localised tier restrictions, as well as further support for pubs. 

Each time the government announces a new grant it can take several weeks before they provide councils with the specific details they need in order to open the scheme for applications. 

To ensure they find out as soon as new grant funding becomes available locally, businesses are urged to visit svbs.co.uk to sign up to the Business Support mailing list.

The website also includes lots of advice for businesses as well as links to further support.

Since restrictions were first introduced last year, the councils have provided more than £46million in grants to businesses across the two districts.

The following grants are currently open for applications from businesses in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse:

• National Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) – currently available for the national lockdown period 5 November to 1 December – This grant provides up to £3,000 for rate paying businesses only, which were either required to close, or where the substantive element of their business had to close.  For instance, if a pub or non-essential shop could only offer a click and collect takeaway service during this time.
• Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) – currently available for Tier 2 restriction period 2 December to 25 December 2020 –  this grant provides up to £2,751 for rate paying businesses only that were temporarily required to close, or where the substantive element of their business had to close while local restrictions applied.   
• Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) – available for the period from 2 December to 25 December 2020 – This grant provides up to £1,800 for any business from the hospitality, accommodation or leisure sectors that remained open while we were under local Tier 2 restrictions but whose trade was severely impacted during that time.  
• Christmas Support Payment for Wet-Led Pubs – this is a one-off grant which provides £1,000 to pubs which receive less than 50 per cent of their income from food sales. Applications for this grant close on 31 January 2021, so please apply as quickly as possible. You can receive this grant in addition to the other grants available.

Tier 4 and national lockdown funding update:

The councils are currently waiting for further information from the government regarding the grant funding for the period from 26 December 2020 (Tier 4 Restrictions) and the new national lockdown from 6 January.

To receive notifications about when these grants become available please subscribe to the South and Vale Business Support newsletter – sign up at svbs.co.uk.

Cllr Robin Bennett, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “It can take some time for the government to provide the information we need before we can open individual grants for applications.  However, we are doing our best to open them as quickly as possible and appreciate people’s patience while we wait for this information to reach us.  The quickest way to find out when grants become available locally is to visit svbs.co.uk and to sign up to our mailing list.”

Cllr Bethia Thomas, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “We know that many businesses are continuing to face an extremely challenging situation and I want to reassure them that we are here to support you.  If you are being affected by the restrictions, please visit svbs.co.uk where you’ll find lots of helpful advice and up to date information on the grant funding that’s available.”