Ipswich Borough Council has awarded £48m in Covid business grants according to official data

Grants totalling over £48 million have been awarded to businesses affected by Covid-19 in the last two years, a council has said.

A report by Ipswich Borough Council shows that it paid out £41.8m in the period between 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2022.

These were paid out to businesses in retail, hospitality or leisure, or to smaller businesses.

A further 133 businesses received initial Covid-19 Business Support Grants totalling £1.2m between 1 April 2020 and 28 August 2020.

In addition, over £4m was paid to businesses that suffered huge financial losses during the 2020 lockdowns.

This includes businesses who had to close due to these hardships, those in the hospitality or leisure sectors, taxi ranks, Ofsted-registered nurseries and other businesses struggling financially.

Like many authorities, the council was given government funding to help tackle the impact of the pandemic, given in the form of grants to businesses.

The report says these grants have been awarded through 12 different schemes and have reached hundreds of businesses in the town.

Councillor David Ellesmere, Ipswich Borough Council Leader and Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Property, says: “These grants have proved a vital lifeline for Ipswich businesses hit by the economic effects of Covid-19.

“It has taken a lot of hard work by the Council’s staff to ensure that these grants were paid out and I know from the messages we’ve received how much local businesses have appreciated this.”