Leicester seeks further financial help for businesses

Peter Soulsby has again written to the government urging them to provide more support to local businesses to help them cope with the impact of the Leicester’s extended coronavirus lockdown.

The city’s Mayor has set out the importance of the Health Secretary Matt Hancock honouring his original pledge to help hard-hit businesses, after he announced to ministers that many of the lockdown measures in place in Leicester, along with neighbouring Oadby and Wigston, were to be extended for a further two weeks.

Despite the government initially promising help to city businesses struggling with the extended lockdown, it has subsequently said no further financial help will be available.

Leicester City Council has so far supported more than 6,000 businesses with grants totalling £70 million since March, but is now calling for the government to allow it to use the remaining £10 million of unallocated business grants to help struggling city businesses.

Soulsby said: “The health secretary, Matt Hancock, originally promised us that the government would help businesses in the city, but now says they won’t. Many businesses are finding themselves in a dire financial situation and need some certainty to know whether they have a future. Those businesses – and the council – are growing tired of waiting for the government to deliver on its original promise of help.

“Clearly, using this £10 million of business grant funding that hasn’t been allocated could help provide immediate aid to struggling businesses. We already have the local knowledge, businesses’ details and the payment system set up – we are just waiting for the government for permission to use that money, to which so far we’ve received no response. Businesses desperately need help and support at this extremely difficult time, and yet again I find myself asking the government to deliver on their original earlier promises to provide that help.”