Derek has asked a parliamentary question to confirm that Cornwall Council has discretion in how it pays out grants to the leisure and hospitality industry.
The government recently announced that it is introducing a new grant scheme to support businesses that are experiencing difficulties because of the Omicron variant, and the dual impact of staff absences and lower consumer demand. Recipients must be solvent businesses, and ratepayers in the hospitality and leisure sector. Businesses that are eligible – such as pubs and restaurants who saw Christmas events and gatherings cancelled at late notice – can claim grants of up to £6,000.
The new administration at Cornwall Council has been working to make sure these grants only go to businesses that were affected by the Omicron variant, and not (as may have happened under the previous council) without ascertaining whether applicants were genuine businesses in need of support.
These precautions have come under scrutiny by councillors who maintain that the grants are mandatory, not discretionary, and the council should pay them out without investigating whether businesses have incurred losses because of the impact of the Omicron variant.
Derek asked the Treasury to confirm that the grants were in fact discretionary, and that councils can and must ensure that they are directed to businesses who needed it.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen MP, told Derek:
“I can certainly confirm that the intention behind the range of interventions was to find the most appropriate delivery mechanism for the different support payments, and obviously we have worked with local authorities to give them that discretion. Every authority will need to be held to account for how it has decided to deliver the grants.
“My hon. Friend has made a clear case for where those priorities need to lie, and we are clear about the intention behind the grants, but it will be for local authorities throughout the country to make their decisions in the right way.”
Derek says:
“I am fully supportive of the council’s determination to make sure that grants are only given to genuine businesses.
“Asking questions in Parliament is not just the theatre of PMQs – it is also a useful way of getting ministers to state their intentions on the record.
“This confirmation that Cornwall Council are taking the right approach to these grants is very welcome, for the council and for the businesses in Cornwall who need this support.”
