Welsh Covid business grant application process 'shambolic'

The process of applying for a Welsh Government coronavirus grant has been described as "unfair" and "shambolic" by businesses who tried to access it.

The £100m available from the third phase of the Economic Resilience Fund (ERF) opened on 28 October but closed the next day.

While many firms were still chasing quotes and bank statements at the time, others could apply without them.

The Welsh Government said it had worked hard to support businesses.

But the Welsh Conservative economy spokesman, Russell George, said businesses had been "let down by lack of communication; let down by a lack of clarity; let down by the Welsh Labour Government".

While Plaid Cymru's spokeswoman Helen Mary Jones said targeted support was needed for businesses unable to resume trading until the coronavirus pandemic was over.

Applicants were allowed 20 minutes to complete the questions on each page and asked to provide supporting documents for their application, including three months of bank statements, proof that they could match-fund 10% of the grant and quotes for work to be carried out.

The guidance notes for the application stated the documents were "required as part of the application process" and that "if application forms are sent without the required additional documents, your application will be declined".

Despite this, some businesses were allowed to provide these documents after submitting their application form with an extended cut-off date of 2 November, according to evidence seen by BBC Wales.

On 30 October, less than 48 hours after the fund opened, the Welsh Government stated that "more than 5,500 businesses" had applied for the grant and it was now "fully subscribed".

Jamie Williams, who runs North Wales Active in Betws y Coed, missed the grant "by a few hours" and said the process was "shambolic".

After taking a couple of days to gather supporting evidence, Mr Williams thought they would "fly through" the process.

"But as we tried to apply for it the next day, it had obviously gone, which is just ridiculous," he said.

The £10,000 grant was "hugely important", Mr William added. "Nobody's booking our activities because either they are in lockdown or we are in lockdown."

Natalie Isaac and her family run five restaurants including two in Cardiff - Assador 44 and Bar 44.

Applications were made for both. Bar 44 was turned down for not attaching bank statements, which Ms Issac said they did.

But for the other, the business was given an opportunity to submit information to a case officer.

"So that's two establishments with two completely different approaches," said Ms Issac, who is contesting the claim regarding Bar 44.

"It should be a fair and reasonable process. We don't believe that everyone's being treated equally."

Ms Isaac said their business was currently "£3.7m down on sales", with staff numbers across their five restaurants down from 120 to 52 since March.

She said some of the staff that were let go could have been brought back had she got the ERF.

Kerry DeCaux, who runs Rolfe's florist in Cardiff, was also rejected for not uploading enough supporting documents.

"The application was timed, I wasn't expecting that, I read the guide notes as best as I could as I completed each step, then sent it."

She said she felt "quite pressurised", adding: "I did it the best I could."

Ms DeCaux said when she received the rejection email she asked for "an opportunity to fix the elements I failed on, but was told there was no appeal process".

"I honestly felt broken. I sat on the floor of my shop and sobbed my heart out," she added.

North Wales Tourism surveyed 111 members on their experiences of applying for the £100m fund - 44 had managed to make an application and were awaiting an outcome.

Of the 67 who had not made an application, 29 referred to a "very complex process" and "time constraints".

The Chief Executive of North Wales Tourism, Jim Jones, said the grant "did not provide the help that is so desperately needed."

He added firms that did not get the support "can't just be left in complete limbo" without help into 2021.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We've worked hard to support businesses through this incredibly difficult year and we've already provided businesses with £100m from the third phase of the Economic Resilience Fund since it was launched last month.

"We also ring-fenced funding in third phase for tourism and hospitality businesses.

"This is in addition to the hundreds of millions of pounds provided to firms through the first two phases of the ERF and our Covid-19 business rates based grants."

He said to date, 80% of recipient firms of the ERF, including phases one and two, had been micro businesses accessing support through the digital application process.

The Welsh Government said it had launched its eligibility checker three weeks before ERF3 "to give businesses plenty of time to prepare their applications" and asked them to provide necessary supporting documentation "to ensure necessary due diligence".

"We recognise that some businesses missed out on this round of funding and we are exploring options for how we might allocate any future support," the spokesman added.

He said the finance minister had set aside funding for a fourth phase of the ERF and was currently developing proposals.