(a)

the Council was administering two emergency grant schemes for the National Lockdown which included -

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the Local Restrictions Support Grant (for businesses required  by the Government to close) -

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1741 applications had been made with 1225 grants being approved,

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283 had been rejected but directed to apply for the Additional Restrictions Grant;

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overall the Council had paid out £1,744,288 to 1143 applicants, with a further £38,014 being paid today to 25 applicants;

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a total of 290 applications had been made to the Additional Restrictions Grant (a discretionary grant scheme to support businesses impacted by the lockdown but not required to close);

(b)

for both these grants, the Council’s help line had taken and answered 593 calls; businesses that had yet to apply for either the Local Restrictions Support Grant or Additional Restrictions Grant were urged to do so;

(c)

an announcement would be made this week regarding the arrangements for the Tier Two Grants, following the receipt of Government guidance; this process would be automated, as much as possible and payment to eligible businesses would be made every two weeks;

(d)

the Heart of the South West Enterprise Partnership had announced that it would be allocating money from the Government’s ‘Getting Building Fund’ -

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Plymouth would receive almost £7m to help to get some of the new construction projects off the ground in 2021; the investment in the city’s major infrastructure projects would help support economic growth across the city; the Council was expecting this investment would create and safeguard more than 80 jobs;

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the investment would make a significant contribution to the city’s recovery from the pandemic; the Council would receive an additional £4.17m for phase two of the Brunel Plaza/train station concourse development; the Council had ambitious  plans to transform the station which had not seen significant investment in decades by creating a thriving new plaza with office and retail spaces;

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approximately £2m would be spent on two of the city’s business parks; low carbon, flexible workspaces would be created at Plymouth International, while a former computer complex at the City Business Park in Stoke would be demolished and groundworks undertaken to develop a viable site for future construction;

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£300k would be spent on helping make around 630 homes across the city more energy efficient; £350k to refurbish the facilities used by welding students and apprentices at City College Plymouth; there was currently high demand for skilled welders across the South West and this funding would enable the college to double the number of welding bays and specialist trainers; in addition, the Council had made an application to the LEP for funding which would help to develop the National Marine Park;

(e)

Councillor Kate Taylor had been nominated and shortlisted for the LGiU Councillor Awards in the Covid-19 Hero category -

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this was a new category for this year to celebrate those who played a central role in helping residents during a period of such extreme hardship, who overcame barriers posed by social distancing, self-isolation and disruption to their own lives to make sure others were able to cope;

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Councillor Taylor had been nominated as she played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Caring for Plymouth Support Hub which was the Council’s response to the Government’s shielding programme and an alliance between the Council, Livewell Southwest and 12 voluntary and community sector organisations;

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the service ensured that shielded residents were provided with emotional support, shopping, medicine collection, support with paying bills and accessing money; almost uniquely and because of Councillor Taylor’s leadership the Care for Plymouth Support Hub supported other vulnerable older and disabled people who were affected by Covid-19, not just the ones identified in the Government’s cohort.