Minutes:
The Head of Business presented the above report, a copy of which was previously circulated to Member. The purpose of the report was to update members on funding from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) for the roll-out of a Rural Business Capital Grant Scheme for the financial year 2020-2021.
Councillor Ferguson welcomed the report. She commented that this is was a crucial time for support to be provided to businesses.
The Head of Business in response to Councillor Mellon advised that the scheme would provide funding support to as many businesses as possible and would be widely promoted by various sources to include social media platforms. He agreed to confirm with Councillor Mellon the total number of applicants to date.
The Committee
Recommended that Council;
i) agrees to participate in the second Rural Business Development Grant Scheme in 2020-21, subject to the award of funding from DAERA through the Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation Programme;
ii) that subject to Council approval, delegated authority is granted to accept the Letter of Offer and to administer the programme on behalf of DAERA.
Supporting documents: