May 26, 2021 4.58 pm
This story is over 6 months old
Grantham Conservative association received £10k COVID bailout money, FOI reveals
Money later returned, leaders said
Independent SKDC Councillor Ashley Baxter (right) said he put in the FOI to find out "straight answers". Grantham and Stamford Association Chairman Martin Trollope-Bellew said the money was used to support businesses.
Grantham and Stamford’s Conservative Association received a £10,000 COVID-19 grant during lockdown last year, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
South Kesteven District Council Independent Councillor Ashley Baxter said he submitted the FOI after struggling to “get a straight answer” around the allocation of the Small Business Grant Fund.
The association said the money was used to support small businesses renting office space in its Bourne-based headquarters and was returned once further funding was made available.
The response to the FOI showed that the association applied to InvestSK Ltd, which managed the scheme on behalf of SKDC, on April 22, 2020, and was paid £10,000 the next day.
The money was returned on November 10, 2020.
Councillor Ashley Baxter, South Kesteven member for Market and West Deeping ward.
Councillor Baxter said: “I am delighted that my Freedom of Information has established the facts about the local Conservative Party application for a COVID grants.”
He said he had tried to ask council bosses about the details of the application but had been “met with obfuscation and excuses”.
“The issue concerns the allocation of public money administered by SKDC and given all the highfalutin talk of ‘openness’ and ‘transparency’, it is a shame that I have yet again had to resort to a Freedom of Information request to unearth the facts”.
He acknowledged the application had been within the rules, but said he was “pleased” the money had been returned.
Martin Trollope-Bellew, Chairman of the Grantham and Stamford Conservative Association, said: “The association was eligible for the small business grant and was accepted on the basis of supporting the small businesses which rent office space within our building, as they weren’t initially eligible for any financial support.
“However, the discretionary grant was then introduced which enabled the businesses based within our building to access funds to support them through this difficult time. The small business grant was then repaid in full.”
Grantham and Stamford Conservative Association Chairman Martin Trollope-Bellew.
While the Conservative party said the associations were “no different from other organisations in facing challenging times,” campaign group Excluded UK said it was “very unjust” as businesses elsewhere faced closure.
An SKDC spokesperson said: “For eligible businesses on the business rates register there were no restrictions on the type of organisations that could claim the grants or on what these grants were spent on.
“All those grants paid out were in line with the government guidance.
“As part of the grant acceptance process all applicants were given the opportunity to return the grant should they wish to.”
Conservative Council leader Kelham Cooke was approached for comment but referred the media to the Grantham and Stamford Conservative Association.
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A Lincoln City fan page on social media has rallied together to raise funds for the family of a 19-year-old supporter who died after a painstaking battle with cancer.
Jack Nottingham, otherwise known in the Lincoln City fan community as Jack Notty, sadly died on Monday, six years after he was first diagnosed with cancer.
Jack was just 13 when he was diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer in November 2015, which eventually spread to a secondary cancer in both his lungs, and affected the bones in his legs and shoulder.
Jack Nottingham was a popular member of Lincoln City’s fan community, seen here as a special guest at Wembley for the 2018 Checkatrade Trophy final. | Photo: Lincoln City FC
But his condition did not break his spirit, and Jack continued to cheer on Lincoln City right up until his final moments, even leading the team out at Wembley for the 2018 Checkatrade Trophy final.
Lincoln City Football Club and former manager Danny Cowley led the tributes when news of Jack’s passing broke earlier this week, with Cowley calling him an “inspiration”.
Everyone at Lincoln City Football Club is sad to learn of the sudden passing of Imps fan Jack Nottingham.
The thoughts of everybody at the club are with Jack’s family and friends at this difficult time.
There will also be a minute-long applause at the LNER Stadium this Saturday during the Imps’ FA Cup second round match with Hartlepool United, taking place in the 19th minute to mark the age at which Jack tragically passed away.
Our commitment to protect rural communities and tackle crimes including hare coursing, lead thefts and fly-tipping has been realised and enhanced with the formation of a new rural crime action team.
They will target rural crime such as hare coursing and wildlife crime, arson, flytipping, lead theft, theft from farms and rural properties as we well as offer crime prevention advice: Crime Prevention and Partnerships (lincs.police.uk)
Chief Inspector Phil Vickers, rural crime lead, said: “ Lincolnshire is a large rural county and as part of our commitment to support rural we can remove the second ‘rural’ communities we are recruiting experienced Officers into the Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT).
“This commitment means that we can focus on prevention, investigation and enforcement of offences that have a unique impact on rural communities, that we can develop our national lead on tackling Hare Coursing and work together to protect our Heritage, Wildlife and Environment.
“The team is made up of Officers passionate about protecting Lincolnshire Communities, targeting the criminals who come here to offend and making Lincolnshire the safest place to live, work and visit.”
In the lead up to the deployment of the new team, PC Martin Green, one of our rural crime officers, said: “Our main focus is to deter criminals and support our rural crime communities.
“Our aim is to stop criminals in their tracks by patrolling areas and attending incidents as soon as they are reported. We continue to ask anyone affected by crime to call us on 101, or call 999 to report a crime in action.”
Chief Constable Chris Haward added: “It is so important to have a dedicated team for this area of policing, which quite often can go unnoticed. We want to reassure the residents of Lincolnshire that we are here to disrupt rural crime, to catch those who think they can get away with it and to ensure our more isolated communities feel safe in their own homes.
“We have had cases of lead theft, along with other countryside offences. We understand how destructive these are to people’s livelihoods, and how damaging they can be emotionally to the victim. We want perpetrators of these crimes to know we are here to catch them: do not consider committing the crime because we will bring you to justice.
“Working closely with partners including the National Farmers’ Union, we can draw on expertise and resources from all over the county; together, we can provide the service needed to prevent rural crime.”
NFU Lincolnshire county advisers Rhonda Thompson and Johanna Musson said: “This is a massive step towards Lincolnshire cracking down on rural crime.
“The threat of crime is huge in the countryside. Farmers and growers bear the brunt of it and many often face a daily battle against a determined group of offenders.
“Having an RCAT sends a stark message to criminals and organised crime gangs aiming to target our rural areas – there is now a police unit entirely dedicated to preventing them causing crime and catching them if they commit it.
“We’re proud to have worked alongside the CLA, the police and the police and crime commissioner in the establishment of this new team.
“Now the hard work begins on making Lincolnshire a no-go zone for criminals.”
If you have been a victim of crime, please call us on 101, or dial 999 to report a crime in action.
Staff at East Midlands Railway due to strike over pay and working conditions have called off the action planned during the Lincoln Christmas Market.
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) had planned to go on strike on Friday, December 3 and Saturday, December 4, resulting in cancellations to services due to take people to Lincoln Christmas Market.
The union says it is still planning action if a deal can’t be made with EMR, but that would be later this month.
Anyone planning to travel by train over the weekend, including to the Lincoln Christmas Market, is still advised to check EMR timetables before they set off as the short notice of the scrapped action means timetables will be reduced.
An EMR spokesperson said: “We have received notification of the RMT’s decision to suspend the strike action.
“Given the extremely short notice of the decision, EMR will continue to operate a reduced timetable on 3 and 4 December.”
EMR says it has “done everything it can” to prioritise services to and from Lincoln, but anticipates the reduced timetable still won’t be sufficient for the thousands of people hoping to visit the Christmas market. It is urging people to use alternative methods of transport if they can.
Read your guide to the 2021 Lincoln Christmas Market here.
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