BUSINESSES in Ryedale unsure of what COVID-19 grants they are entitled to can access a Government support checker.

The online tool is there to help the self-employed, employers, sole traders and limited companies know what grants, tax relief and loans they are eligible for due to the impact of the pandemic.

Councillor Keane Duncan, Leader of Ryedale District Council (RDC) said: “There are many different grants available to businesses at the moment – with distinct criteria and eligibility, each relating to a set lockdown or tier that we’ve been placed in.

“RDC has just launched the grants for when we were classed as a high alert - tier 2, there is a one-off payment for specific businesses over Christmas and then there’ll be grants for the latest national lockdown.

“It can be confusing for businesses to know what support and financial grants they can access, so the Government’s support checker should help take away this confusion.

“It’s our priority to support lives and livelihoods throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and we’d encourage businesses to try the Government’s support checker first as we want them to access every bit of support they’re entitled to, to help keep them afloat. The RDC business support page also has more information about the grants we have open and businesses can apply direct from there.”

Over £1.4 million has been given to 934 local businesses in Ryedale that had to close their doors during the second national lockdown, or had not been eligible for other grant support.

The tier 2 grants are now open for those businesses who were mandated to close when Ryedale was placed in tier 2.

For more information go to www.ryedale.gov.uk/covid-19-2020/support-for-business

To access the support checker go to www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder