The Liverpool City Region has secured a further £8m funding package to support local businesses.
The new money adds to the previously-announced £44m emergency funding, which helped over 4,000 firms across the city region.
The original £44m from the Government’s Additional Restrictions Grant scheme was secured by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, following negotiations with Westminster when the city region was first put into Tier Three restrictions in October 2020.
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The new £8.1m funding – to be known as the 'Trading On Scheme' will specifically support small or medium-sized businesses.
In a joint statement, Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and the leaders of the region's six councils, said: “Throughout the past 18 months, we have worked together to project our region from the biggest challenge it has faced since the war.
"That collaboration, creativity and hard work resulted in millions of pounds of support that helped sustain thousands of businesses in all parts of our region through the worst of the pandemic.
“More than £44m was distributed to more than 4,000 businesses, saving many more thousands of jobs and livelihoods in the process. We start our recovery from a much stronger position as a result.
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“That recovery is already well underway and received a massive boost in May, with the launch of Mayor Steve Rotheram’s £150m Covid Recovery Fund, which has allowed our region to get a headstart on the rest of the country.
“Today, we’re launching another £8.1m of funding for SMEs, who make up a massive chunk of the local economy. Together, we are making sure that the Liverpool City Region has the fastest and strongest recovery possible, with no one left behind.”
The Government said it requires each council to exercise its local knowledge and judgment in devising a grant scheme that "aligns best" with the particular economic characteristics of its area by funding those businesses that have been severely impacted by Covid-19.
The combined authority said because of that - and the limited amount of funding available - the amounts of grant funding for individual businesses will vary across different local authority areas.