Apply for Welsh Government business support
Lockdown Discretionary Grant
Grant amount 1 - a discretionary grant of £1,500 is available to assist businesses that have:
- been forced to close (as defined by the regulations) as a result of the national firebreak lockdown
- OR are able to demonstrate that the national firebreak lockdown will result in at least a 80% reduction in their turnover for that period
Grant amount 2 - a discretionary grant of £2,000 is available to assist businesses that have:
- been forced to close (as defined by the regulations) as a result of the national firebreak lockdown
- OR are able to demonstrate that the national firebreak lockdown will result in at least a 80% reduction in their turnover for that period
- AND have been subject to local restrictions for 3 weeks or more up to the 23rd October and experienced at least a 50% reduction in their turnover for that period.
You cannot apply for Grant 1 and Grant 2.
You are not eligible for this grant if:
- you are eligible for, or have received, the Lockdown Non-Domestic Rate Grant from your Local Authority
For further information on this grant please read the Lockdown Discretionary Grant Guidance Document (.docx 36KB).
Applications will be dealt with on a first come first served basis. This may lead to applications not being appraised after they have been submitted if the fund is fully committed.
Bridgend County Borough Freelancer Fund
Phase three of the Freelancer fund is now open for applications.
The purpose of the grant is to support freelancers in the cultural and creative sectors facing financial challenges in the period from April 2020 - March 2021.
The grant seeks to complement other Covid-19 response measures to support organisations and businesses in Wales as part of the Cultural Recovery Fund.
The eligibility criteria for the grant is as follows:
- facing financial challenges in the period from April 2020 - March 2021;
- freelancer professionals whose work has direct creative/cultural outcomes, who work in the four key sub sectors ;
- the Arts
- creative Industries
- arts and Heritage Events
- culture and Heritage
- you must be operating in Wales;
- you must be based within the local authority you are applying to.
You are not eligible for this grant if:
- You have recently received funding from the Start-Up Grant launched in June 2020 to help new businesses survive the economic consequences of coronavirus (Covid-19);
- You are a freelancer who works in the sport sector.
You can check your eligibility before the application process opens by visiting the Eligibility Checker for the Freelancer Fund.
This funding is specifically for creative/cultural subsectors and roles that have been forced to cease work and/or face difficultly restarting because of the impact of Covid-19 restrictions.
Those in roles that have been able to continue at previous or near previous levels of activity (e.g. architects, graphic designers, games designers etc.) with or without support should not apply.
For further information on this grant please read the Freelancer Fund guidance notes.
If you have read the guidance, are eligible for the grant and wish to apply please complete all the requested fields on the Freelancer Fund online application form.
To provide enough time for freelancers to apply we will be splitting the fund into two phases, with Phase 1 operating for a short period, and then followed shortly after by a second phase.
A grant of £2,500 is available per individual and applications will be dealt with on a first come first served basis. This may lead to applications not being appraised after they have been submitted if the fund is fully committed.
Childcare Provider Grant
The Childcare provider grant has now closed to new applicants.
Bridgend County Borough Council Start Up Grant
The Start Up Grant has now closed to new applicants.
Economic Resilience Fund (ERF)
See further details of the Economic Resilience Fund.
Third Sector grants
Third Sector organisations can access support and funding from WCVA.
Information gathering
We are asking businesses to submit some basic information about their business, what support they require from Bridgend County Borough Council and the actual and predicted impact of about Covid-19 on their business.
By submitting a business impact form, you are agreeing to share information, some of which may be personal, with Bridgend County Borough Council. You can read about how we use and store the information that you provide us by taking a look at our data protection webpage.
You can request to see what data we hold or have this data erased or amended at any time.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
You can find details of the Coronavirus Self Employment Income Support Scheme on the UK government website, or through Business Wales’s self employment advice pages.
The Welsh Government has announced a new Economic Resilience Fund. It will provide extra support to the Welsh economy, businesses and charities experiencing a sharp drop in trading due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Fund aims to plug the gaps in the support schemes already announced by the UK government. These include the Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, which will guarantee 80% of people’s wages and income.
The new £500 million Welsh fund will support firms of all sizes including social enterprises. The focus will be on those which have not already benefited from the coronavirus grants already announced by Welsh Government.
Regarding different sizes of business, there:
- are grants of £10,000 for micro-businesses employing up to nine people, which includes sole traders employing staff
- are grants of up to £100,000 for small and medium sized firms with between 10 and 249 employees
- is support for larger Welsh companies, which are of critical social or economic importance to Wales
Find out now, if your business is eligible for support from the new Economic Resilience Fund.
The Welsh Government’s new £500m Economic Resilience Fund will provide additional financial support during the coronavirus pandemic and will help organisations to manage cash flow pressures. It will help to address gaps not met by schemes already announced by the UK Government, Welsh Government and Development Bank of Wales.
The fund is now live for applications via the Business Wales website and will be available to firms who pass the eligibility criteria and is designed to help those businesses, charities and social enterprises who are struggling with cash flow problems.
A new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme has been launched. It covers a variety of different products such as loans, overdraft, invoice finance and asset finance. Launched on 23 March, the British Business Bank delivers it. It is to support primarily small and medium sized businesses to access bank lending and overdrafts.
The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan to give them further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. This is subject to a per-lender cap on claims. The government will not charge businesses or banks for this guarantee, and the Scheme will support loans of up to £5 million in value. Businesses can access the first 12 months of that finance interest free, as government will cover the first 12 months of interest payments.
Further details can be found on the British Business Bank’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme page.
The Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan Scheme is now open for applications.
Key details:
- Businesses can borrow between £2,000 and £50,000.
- The government will guarantee 100% of the loan and there won’t be any fees or interest to pay for the first 12 months.
- Loan terms will be up to 6 years.
- The government will work with lenders to agree a low rate of interest for the remaining period of the loan.
- The scheme will be delivered through a network of accredited lenders
Details on how to apply are here: https://bit.ly/BounceBackLoanApply
Yes. Yet due to the unprecedented volumes of applications, the Development Bank of Wales is now fully subscribed for the Covid-19 Wales Business Loan Scheme.
For information purposes, the following are details of the scheme. The Welsh Government and the Development Bank of Wales announced the £100m Covid-19 Wales Business Loan Scheme to support businesses affected by the outbreak. The Scheme was available from the Development Bank of Wales for a limited period. It is intended to provide support to businesses experiencing cashflow difficulties due to the pandemic.
The loan scheme will work alongside the UK-wide Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, other Welsh Government and UK Government support offers. It provides more vital options for Welsh businesses. Loans of between £5,000 and £250,000 were available to businesses who:
- have been trading longer than two years
- could show they were able to service that level of debt before the outbreak
Fund details:
- £100m fund
- loans between £5,000 to £250,000, maximum loan levels apply
- 12 month capital and interest repayment holiday
- no arrangement or monitoring fees
- 2% interest fixed for six years (includes the 12 month holiday)
Details of the fund, eligibility and application process can be found on the Development Bank of Wales’s website.
Yes. Business Wales have launched a brand new series of webinars providing advice to SMEs across the country affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Sign up to the webinars on the Business Wales website.
The Pop-up Business School have produced a survival guide for small businesses.
Question – the fishing industry has been hit especially hard as exports and domestic markets have shut due to the public health crisis, is there any funding available?
Answer – a new grant to support fishing businesses during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has been announced by the Welsh Government, follow this link to find out more about the application process on the Gov website.
The Arts Council of Wales has announced an Arts Resilience Fund for artists and cultural organisations to support them through the Covid-19 crisis.
The council have an online Business Impact form located at the bottom of this page.
The Department for Work and Pensions have provided further information about the changes the Government has brought in to support people who are already claiming benefits, need to claim benefits, or are at risk of losing their job as a result of Coronavirus.
There is free access to online training on the Government's website. The Skills Toolkit is made up of free online courses, tools and resources to help improve digital and numeracy skills. Find out more here - Skills Toolkit
Covid-19 support for businesses infographic