More than £11 million paid out to Daventry firms in coronavirus grants so far

The district council has initially been allocated £15.4 million by the government to hand out to businesses, and the authority has identified 1,181 firms could be eligible for the handouts.

And latest figures produced by the Government reveal that as of Sunday (April 26), payments have been sent to 943 firms totalling just over £11.1 million.

Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector with a property that has a rateable value of £15,000 and under may be eligible for a grant of £10,000, while those with a property that has a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 may be eligible for a grant of £25,000.

And small businesses that already pay little or no business rates and are currently eligible for small business rate relief or rural rate relief can be provided with a one-off grant of £10,000 to help meet their ongoing business costs.

Daventry District Council has written to all businesses which it believes are eligible for these grants. The letters have been sent to the addresses the authority holds on its Business Rates records. But you can find out more on the council's website here.

Other authorities across the county have also been sending out grants. South Northamptonshire Council has sent just over £10 million to 900 businesses. And Northampton Borough Council – after a slow start – has now sent out £17.7 million to 1,370 firms but remains some way short of its initial £37.4 million allocation.