Column by the leader of Stroud District Council, Doina Cornell.

I’m pleased to say that the Business Discretionary Grant Fund went live this week, through which we will allocate an additional £1.4m of support to local businesses. The support is another part of government support for businesses, in this case those who continue to have premises costs, have suffered a drop in income as a result of Covid19 and have not previously had grants. The main categories are small businesses in shared offices or flexible workspaces; regular market traders; bed & breakfast premises which pay Council Tax; charity properties; hospitality premises slightly too big for the original government grant scheme.

Applications will be open until midnight on 21st June, the online application form is at https://www.stroud.gov.uk/health-wellbeing/coronavirus/businesses-and-employers

Although we’ve recognised what amazing community support we have seen through this crisis, sadly some people want to take advantage. Gloucestershire Police are warning about a scam over hoax phone calls claiming to be on behalf of NHS Track and Trace when people are asked to hand over payments for a testing kit. NHS Test and Trace helps trace close recent contacts of anyone who tests positive for coronavirus and, if necessary, notifies them that they must self-isolate at home to help stop the spread of the virus. Contact tracers will never ask for any financial or personal information. More details of the new NHS Track and Trace service can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works.

It is Carers Week and the theme this year is ‘Making Caring Visible’, raising awareness of how many informal carers there are, and recognising how important they are - a good moment to say thank you to all the carers in our district for the work you do caring for others.