Additional £3 million worth of grants available to Milton Keynes businesses via the council

Local businesses forced to shut down during the third national lockdown can receive top-up grants from Milton Keynes Council.

Over £3 million has been allocated for businesses through a business support scheme.

Businesses which have already applied for the scheme will be awarded the money without having to reapply, according to council reports.

Applications are processed through a new online grant approval portal enabling top-up payments to go through automatically.

Over 1,000 grant payments totalling almost £2.8m have already been processed.

Payments will be made automatically to businesses that previously benefited from its Discretionary Business Support Scheme and did not qualify for the business support package.

The Council has also extended the discretionary business support scheme to provide a one-off payment of £250 to hackney carriage and private vehicle hire licenses holders in Milton Keynes.

Grants are still available for businesses to claim that were affected by the November lockdown and local tier restrictions towards the end of last year.

Since the pandemic began, MK Council claims to have paid nearly 15,000 grants totalling £77m to help local businesses.

More information about the grants available and eligibility can be found on the council's website here.

A new grant scheme which would provide up to £18,000 to help businesses with reopening costs is being discussed ahead of government approval.

Cabinet Member for finance and resources, Councillor Rob Middleton said on the council's website: “We must continue to help businesses that need urgent support right now. The pandemic has left many businesses struggling and getting these grants to them at the right time could prove to be a vital lifeline. I’d encourage any businesses yet to apply to do so immediately so we can get you the support you need.”