BHETA member Auteur has recently successfully applied for a £10,000 small business grant which has been activated by the government's Coronavirus support package. The grants are paid by local councils and and available nationwide, and the only criteria is that a business qualifies for Small Business Rate Relief. No security or repayment is required.More details of the Government scheme are hereFigures showing the amount and number of grants provided by Local Councils nationwide are hereBHETA chief operating officer, Will Jones, recently interviewed Vivienne Cudahy, the founder and managing director, of Auteur, about the application:Q: Viv, I understand that you have successfully bid for and received some grant funding is that correct?A: Yes, we received a £10,000 small business Grant which has been activated by the governments Coronavirus support package. Our office premises qualify for Small Business Rate Relief, and it is this status which meant that we qualified for the GrantQ: Who was the grant paid by?A: Cherwell District Council, but it is available nationwide at every local CouncilQ: Can you share with us the application process?A: There was an online form via the Local Council website, it was very quick and straight forward. You just need your Account reference number to identify the property/business. We applied on the 6th April, and the money was in our account on the 16th April, it was incredibly impressive how quickly and easily it happened - thank-you Rishi SunakQ: Can you share some examples of the criteria that you had to meet?A: For this particular Grant there is only one, that you qualify for Small Business Rate Relief. No security or repayment is requiredQ: How do suppliers get more detail? Is there a website?A: The local Authorities are contacting all qualifying business’ directly, however you can also apply through your local Authority website.Q: Have you applied for other grants?A: No, this is the only one which we qualify for (that I’ve heard of)Q: Have you considered the governments CBILS loan scheme?A: Not for the moment, we are closely monitoring cashflow, and hoping not to take on board loansBHETA are very grateful to Auteur for sharing this information and we hope it is useful to members who qualify for Small Business Rate Relief.