RESPONDING to the Prime Minister’s announcement on fully reopening the economy, Bromsgrove Liberal Democrats will be issuing a plea to the council not to forget about excluded businesses.
The Lib Dem group is seeking action to help excluded businesses through a motion at the Bromsgrove District Council meeting on Wednesday, July 14.
They say hundreds of Bromsgrove businesses have been unable to access support, despite the severe impact on trading over the last 16 months.
Bromsgrove Lib Dem leader Coun Rob Hunter said: “Our hard-working council officers have done a fantastic job in incredibly difficult circumstances.
“Without any additional staff, they have taken on a new role and supported more than a thousand businesses to keep afloat during the most difficult months of the pandemic, helping to save countless local jobs.
“However, there are still far too many businesses that have been unable to access the support they need and these still face an uncertain future.”
Bromsgrove District Council has handed out £33 million in business support grants since the beginning of the pandemic, and yet since November 2020, over 400 businesses in the district have been rejected from accessing support.
Now the Lib Dem Group is calling for greater scrutiny of the reasons why, and a clearer appeals process for those who have missed out.
Councillor Hunter added: “We must leave no stone unturned in our efforts to protect local jobs.
“We are not out of the woods yet.”
