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<p>The government has already invested £228m since 2012 in coastal towns, supporting
359 projects through the Coastal Communities Fund and a further £7.5 million though
the Coastal Revival Fund.</p><p>In recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19,
the government has announced a package of support for businesses to help with their
ongoing business costs.</p><p>The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
has been working across Government to provide £13 billion of grant funding to help
small and rural businesses and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors
manage their cashflow through this period. This support is in the form of two grant
funding schemes, the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) and the Retail, Hospitality
and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF). As of 10 May, these grants have been received by over
742,000 businesses and the performance of local authorities in disbursing funding
is published on a weekly basis, including all local authorities covering coastal areas
of England, this document can be found here at: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fcoronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses&data=02%7C01%7CParliamentary%40communities.gov.uk%7C096aaed1cb7a4f484fee08d8018bb9fc%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637261046909231250&sdata=A6gfTn5lZ3TAOfYGyMMprRmNoZSOikxi64PNHC2Vnko%3D&reserved=0"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses</a></p><p>In
addition, on 1 May, the Business Secretary announced that up to £617 million is being
made available to Local Authorities in England to allow them to provide discretionary
grants. This is an additional 5% uplift to the £12.33 billion funding previously announced.
The additional Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund is aimed at small businesses
with ongoing fixed property-related costs but not liable for business rates or rates
reliefs. Guidance, intended to support Local Authorities in administering the Discretionary
Grants Fund, was published on 13 May. This does not replace existing guidance for
the SBGF or the RHLGF.</p><p>Furthermore, High Streets Minister Simon Clarke announced
on 24 May 2020 a new £50 million fund for councils to support their local high streets
get safely back to business. To prepare for the reopening of non-essential retail
when the scientific advice allows, the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund will help
councils in England, including those with seaside towns, introduce a range of safety
measures in a move to kick-start local economies, get people back to work and customers
back to the shops. The announcement, including allocations, can be found (attached)
<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/50-million-boost-to-support-the-recovery-of-our-high-streets"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/50-million-boost-to-support-the-recovery-of-our-high-streets</a>
and the accompanying guidance at : <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reopening-high-streets-safely-fund-guidance"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reopening-high-streets-safely-fund-guidance</a></p>
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