Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will review the policy requiring local authorities to claw back covid grant payments made in error where (a) significant periods of time have elapsed before notification of the error, (b) the payment was (i) made and (ii) used in good faith and (c) repayment would have a disproportionate impact on small community organisations.

The various business grant schemes were a vital component of support for many businesses during the Covid-19 crisis. However, due to the speed of delivery, payments were made in good faith and in some cases following post payment compliance checks, some awards were identified as being made when they didn’t qualify for the support. In such cases, to protect public money these funds are recovered.

Recovery action is considered and assessed on a case-by-case basis, with repayment terms on an interest-free basis offered to support businesses required to repay.