Discretionary Grant Fund Availability
Less well publicised in the range of grants available to businesses and the self employed is the Discretionary Grants Fund. Updated guidance became available over the weekend.
The main change is that as well as small and micro businesses, the self employed can also qualify for the grants.
Each local authority has been given discretion, within the principles of the scheme, to decide exactly how they would like to distribute the funds made available to them. There is no single rule for everyone therefore.
But it is worth accountants and other professionals telling their clients to check their local authority websites and applying for the scheme if they may be eligible for a grant. Some authorities are asking for all applications before deciding exactly what their policy for handing out the grants will be.
This grant fund is predominantly intended for small businesses and the self employed that did not qualify for the other grants – but as each local authority will draw up their own policy it is best to look at the Government guidance which can be found on the link below, together with your individual local authority website:
Grant awards may be lower than those handed out under the other grant schemes as the overall funding is lower, but every bit of cash can help people to stay afloat – good luck with applying!