A north-east council has handed out £56m in business support grants since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Aberdeenshire Council has been giving out financial aid to companies in the region on behalf of the Scottish Government, as well as its economic development and protective services team providing crucial financial support.
So far a total of 3,859 small businesses, retail, hospital and leisure firms and tenant occupiers have received the majority of the funding – coming in at just over £43 million.
The Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund has also provided grants to the value of £380,000 to 190 firms, and the Business Hardship Fund has paid out £360,160 to 229 companies.
As well as this, Aberdeenshire Council’s Phoenix Fund which launched in May last year has offered £190,000 to 25 business associations and groups to support £340,000 worth of projects to help town centres bounce back from the impact of Covid-19.
A range of other schemes have also been created to support towns and villages and businesses across the region.
Councillor Peter Argyle, chairman of the council’s infrastructure services committee, said: “Without question, this has been the most challenging year imaginable for our business community and it is hard to imagine just how hard it has been for them. These funds have been a vital source of financial support for north-east businesses, many of which continue to face massive challenges on a day-to-day basis.”
Belinda Miller, head of economic development and protective services, added: “It is also important that we recognise and commend the monumental effort of our economic development staff and a host of council services who have assisted in the processing and rapid turnover of thousands of funding applications to support our business community.”
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