Seeking SME support

Derby leaders are seeking £10m of Government funding for a scheme to offer loans and grants to help SMEs create new jobs.

Their request comes after newly-released data revealed the scale of the challenge facing Derby as it battles back from the coronavirus crisis.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that claims for Universal Credit in the city were 142 per cent higher in May than in the same month last year.

Initial findings from a survey of Derby’s small and medium-sized businesses also indicate that 40 per cent of companies fear they will have to make redundancies among their furloughed staff.

The city’s Economic Recovery Task Force is now calling on the Government to make millions of pounds of funding available for projects to help reboot the city’s economy.

It has already submitted a bid for £23.7 million to kick-start major improvement schemes in the city centre.

It is now asking for support for the SME loans and grants initiative that would help businesses across the area of Bondholder D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership create new jobs. The initial ask for this is £10m, with the intention to try to source more funding if enough credible job-creation proposals are identified.

Paul Simpson, Chief Executive of Bondholder Derby City Council, said Derby’s strength in high-value manufacturing and sectors like aerospace left it particularly exposed to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19.

“We are determined to build back and build back better. We are bringing forward our own initiatives and working with the private sector to deliver investment into the city but the scale of the challenge means that we will need support of central Government to ensure Derby continues to play a key role in driving the UK economy.”