COVID-19 Response Funds
WHAT WAS THE SERViCE?
Grants schemes for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and self-employed individuals delivered for The Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Tees Valley Combined Authority, York and North Yorkshire Enterprise Partnership and West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The schemes included:
Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund – support for self-employed individuals in Scotland who were not eligible for the UK Government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The fund provided a single one-off payment of £2,000.
Mobile and Close Contact Services Fund – support for hairdressers, beauticians, driving instructors and other small businesses in Scotland that were unable to continue trading because of the lockdowns.
Pivotal Enterprises Resilience Fund and Business Hardship Fund – support for strategically significant businesses and other SMEs in Scotland to enable them to adapt and survive the pandemic.
Kick-Starting Grant Fund for tourism and other small businesses - this scheme offered help to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) across North and West Yorkshire to gain access to professional support, new equipment and technology with the help of grants of between £1,000 – £3,000.
Cultural Development & Innovation Fund – this £350k grant fund scheme in the Tees Valley was designed to support businesses in the culture sector to build resilience by making strategic step-changes in business activity / business models with a view to diversifying income streams, protecting jobs and growing sustainability in the longer term.
WHAT DiD UMi DO?
We provided both design and operational services to our national and local partners to rapidly mobilise and launch the funds, some within as little as a few days.
WHAT WAS THE RESULT?
£98.5m in emergency grants paid to over 21,000 businesses and self-employed sole traders across Scotland, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and Tees Valley to help them survive, adapt and recover from the impact of the pandemic.