Issue - meetings

The Board received a report from the Strategic Director – Enterprise, Community and Resources, which provided an update on key activities being undertaken and / or overseen by the Council’s Business Improvement and Growth Team during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was noted that since March 2020, most of the Team had been working on supporting local businesses during the pandemic and activities had been changed to reflect this.  Some generic business support had continued and the report included an update on:

·         the Liverpool City Region Hospitality and Leisure Grants (HLG);

·         the Growth Platform; and

·         One Front Door.

It was reported that 1,671 grants totalling £3,934,764.97 had been awarded to date and a breakdown of the applications approved and total funds paid to each group was presented to Members.

Members welcomed the activities carried out to help Halton’s business during this unprecedented time and examples of positive feedback from clients were heard at the meeting.  Concerning queries on the potential for fraudulent claims being made, Halton was able to confirm that none had been fraudulent so far.  It was recognised that nationally, millions of pounds of fraud had been identified in this area, but due to the rigorous checks that were made by the Team in Halton, this was not the case here.

The Chair commented that these grants had clearly helped businesses and the local economy, and gave thanks on behalf of the Board to the whole Team for their work in managing the process.

RESOLVED:  That Members note the activities and performance of the Business Improvement and Growth Team and how this aligned with wider national and city region strategies.