Bradford Council has paid out over £219.5 million in Covid-19 business grants. Since the outbreak of coronavirus in March 2020, Bradford Council officers have worked very hard to set up, process and pay business grants to local firms in need of support. The authority has issued 43,852 grant payments to local businesses – 85% of its total allocation. This is more than Kirklees and Calderdale and broadly in line with Leeds and Wakefield. Nationally, Bradford Council has paid out more than Manchester, Sheffield, Bradford and Bristol. Recently the Council’s highly successful Bradford District Microbusiness Support scheme which has provided advice, training and support to over 200 small businesses has been extended to 2022. And the authority’s Invest In Bradford team has helped countless local businesses with advice and information. The Council has also offered outdoor trading grants to assist the local hospitality sector to extend open air trading spaces and has delivered a number of arts-led recovery initiatives. The Council and its partners have recently lunched Summer Unlocked – a series of events designed to welcome people safely back to public spaces including city and town centres over summer. Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “It’s vitally important we do everything we can to protect local businesses and jobs from the negative impacts of the pandemic and subsequent restrictions. “We have worked extremely hard to ensure Covid-19 grants get to local firms as soon as possible while making sure all the correct checks are made. “The Council will continue to strive to support local firms so that the local economic recovery is as strong as it can be.”
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