Welsh Government fund protects 75,000 jobs
The Welsh Government’s Economic Resilience Fund (ERF) has supported more than 9,000 businesses during the pandemic, helping them to protect around 75,000 jobs, new figures show.
The fund has seen £150m worth of crucial grants provided to businesses to help them deal with the impacts of coronavirus.
Almost £138m has supported micro and SME firms already, with more funding arriving with businesses by the day.
The ERF is part of the Welsh Government’s £1.7bn package of support for business which is the most generous and comprehensive offer of help anywhere in the UK.
This also includes more than 65,000 awards worth £750m of business rate relief to help them respond to financial challenges due to the pandemic.
The second phase of the ERF, which closed on F10 July, extended support to non-VAT registered limited companies and businesses that started after March 2019.
A separate £5m fund established to specifically to support start-up firms not helped by the UK Government’s Self Employment income support scheme remains open for applications. The grant scheme will support up to 2,000 start-ups in Wales with a grant of £2,500 each.
‘Our Economic Resilience Fund is proving absolutely vital in ensuring Welsh businesses get the financial support they need to help see them through these incredibly challenging times. Our calculations indicate that the ERF has helped protect around 75,000 jobs,’ said Welsh economy minister, Ken Skates
‘Coronavirus has placed unprecedented pressures on the business community, and the Welsh Government has done everything in its power to provide practical and financial support. We established the ERF to plug the gaps left in UK Government support and I am pleased the fund is supporting so many firms that could have been left behind.
‘We also made a commitment to cut the red tape and get money out to firms as quickly as possible. In some cases this has resulted in applications being received, processed and funding arriving with businesses in as little as four days – and we know this speed and agility is exactly what our businesses need,’ he added.
‘More ERF funding will continue to arrive with businesses in the coming days and weeks as applications continue to be processed.’
Photo Credit – Tidy (Pixabay)
