Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery, Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed

Officer: Interim Executive Director Place, Sarah Hayward

Key decision: yes

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

1.               Approve the proposed criteria and implementation of phase four of the Additional Restrictions Grant funding allocation, as detailed in the report.

2.               Note the outputs that have been created by the previous phases of the Additional Restrictions Grant funding to date.

3.               Note that due to the Council’s successful allocaton of the £11,169,365 of Additional Restrictions Grant funding a further £2,674,867 top up grant will be secured to support businesses in the borough.

4.               Delegate to the Interim Executive Director of Place the power to make decisions regarding the operation of the allocation of the £2,674,867 Additional Restrictions Grant, in accordance with the funding guidance established by Government.

The Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery (Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed) informed Members that during the pandemic the government announced business grant schemes which were to be administered by councils. The report highlighted the work of one such grant scheme, the Additional Restrictions Grant, and the work which had been completed by officers to distribute £11 million by 30 July 2021. It was noted that Cabinet were being asked to approve the proposed criteria and implementation of phase four of the grant funding with an allocation of £2.67 million.

It was stated that the grants had continued to support local businesses to restart and recover from lockdowns, and reduce business reliance on other support provided by the council. The grants had prevented closures and subsequent unemployment.

The Cabinet Member stated that analysis of recent economic data had shown that hospitality and creative sectors needed specific support which reflected qualitative data which had been received from business networks and representatives. It was highlighted by the Cabinet Member that Croydon was the first borough to allocate additional restrictions grant specifically for black and Asian minority ethnic businesses.

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) noted that £11.2 million had been provided in grants and queried what the impact had been on those businesses in receipt of the grants. Furthermore, he noted that paragraph 6.3 of the report stated that funding would be monitored and evaluated against key outcomes and queried the governance which was in place to ensure evaluation took place.

In response to the questions, the Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery stated that the grants were an iterative process which coincided with criteria setting and business grant allocation. Case studies had been undertaken as part of the Love Croydon Shop Local campaign. It was noted that the hospitality and nighttime economy had been badly affected by the pandemic and so the council had introduced an evening and nighttime economy grant. That funding had been allocated within three days and so a further grant was introduced for district centres. Members were further informed that the nighttime economy grant had been evenly allocated across the borough and did not focus only on the town and district centres.

The growth and innovation grant was also noted by the Cabinet Member as this grant process had been revised following feedback from businesses.

The Director of Growth, Employment & Regeneration (Stephen Tate) advised Members that data and feedback was key in ensuring the grant process was a success. The council had built upon information and data it had and data it had received from London Councils and the South London Partnership. It was noted that it had been a discretionary fund which had enabled the council to shape and adapt the fund depending on feedback.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery (Councillor Andy Stranack) stated that he was very grateful to the government for the grant monies it had provided to Croydon. Concerns were raised that there had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 130