Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore has criticised Bradford Council's handling of business grants for local firms who have had to close during the lockdown.
The MP claims grants made available by central government haven't been passed on to businesses in his constituency in a timely manner.
Mr Moore says the local authority has a 'huge backlog' of cases, with business owners waiting months to receive their payments. Of the £10.7m given to Bradford Council to distribute as Additional Restrictions Grants, only just over £500,000 had been paid out to businesses by 4th March.
He said:“It is very disappointing that Bradford Council are taking so long to distribute these grants whilst businesses are suffering. I appreciate that vetting these grants and distributing the money takes time and they must all be thoroughly checked – I get that. However, Bradford Council should be dedicating more time and resources to this to ensure they get through the backlog as quickly as possible. Instead Bradford Council have decided to launch a Local Plan consultation, pushing forward with proposals to build many houses on our green open spaces through a rough shot consultation which seems aimed at engaging with as fewer people as possible.
“I am calling on Bradford Council to drop their obsession with building on our greenbelt and support the many businesses across the Keighley and Ilkley constituency who so desperately need this grant - money which has been provided by Central Government. I urge Bradford Council to make this a priority as it is vital to our recovery. I will personally be taking this matter up with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, making him aware of backlog of business grants being processed by Bradford Council.”
The owner of Yorkshire Motor House in Keighley said: “I applied for my grant back in September 2020. In November the council declined my grant due to lack of evidence. I then produced this evidence for the grant to be reconsidered. I am still waiting to hear back on whether I was successful. Every time I speak to the council they fob me off. My business has had no financial support in over six months.”
Sarah Wilkinson, Owner of Equilibrium Beauty Salon in Silsden, said: “Bradford Council must be held accountable for the extreme delays with regards allocation of the ARG/restricted grants. Having spoken to many different people within the grants department at Bradford Council, they seem to be making the rules up as they go along, It’s time they released this money to the hard working, self-employed business owners of Bradford.”
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