Extra money has been made available to Dundee businesses that may have missed out on earlier Covid-19 grants.
Dundee City Council says it is tripling the Discretionary Business Grant Fund pot to £1.5m from the original £500,000.
It is open to businesses experiencing significant financial challenges and targeted to those that have received limited support since October.
Mark Flynn, convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee, said: “By the end of this month we expect to have paid out a considerable amount of the initial £500,000 allocation via grants of £2000 per business.
“But as the effects of the pandemic continue and other funding streams become available to various sectors this increase in funding will help those businesses in Dundee that might otherwise slip through the net.
“There are very specific criteria that need to be met for getting help from the Discretionary Business Grant Fund, specifically that they have been directly impacted by restrictions on other firms, for example those in the supply chain or those that have been more generally affected by reduced footfall, as well as businesses without premises who have therefore been ineligible for previous grants.”
How much can a business get?
The grants to business will be met through an allocation awarded by the Scottish Government to Dundee City Council for operation and delivery of the scheme.
Under the revised scheme the one-off flat payment of £2000 will be replaced.
Instead, a tiered payment structure will be introduced meaning a one-off £4000 for sole traders with no additional employees.
A payment of £6000 will be made to those who can provide evidence they employ between one and nine staff.
£10,000 will go to businesses that can show they employ 10 or more staff.
There will also be specific support for taxi operating companies who may not employ staff directly but can evidence high fleet maintenance costs. They will be eligible for the higher grant of £10,000.
Existing applicants do not need to reapply and will be contacted by the council to establish if they wish to receive a top-up payment.
Only one grant can be paid per business and per applicant.