Nearly £33 million has been paid out to support businesses in Perth and Kinross during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
Perth & Kinross Council is administering the Scottish Government’s Coronavirus Business Support Fund locally.
Since the Fund opened in March, 3,799 applications have been processed by the Council’s Business Rates Team.
Of these, 3,007 have been accepted with £32,893,750 paid out so far.
There have been 792 applications rejected.
The funding, part of the Scottish Government’s £1 billion Business Support Fund, allows for businesses with a rateable value of up to £18,000 to apply for grants of up to £10,000.
Retail, hospitality and leisure business ratepayers with a rateable value of £18,001 to £50,999 can apply for one-off grants of £25,000.
In May eligibility was expanded from one grant per ratepayer to one grant per eligible property.
The Scottish Government also set up a £100 million support fund for Small to Medium Sized Enterprises.
This has now been raised to £185 million and expanded to include small bed and breakfasts, who are ineligible for other support because they do not have a business bank account.
Owners of these businesses will be able to apply for a share of £3 million of funding which has been re-purposed from the Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund.
This funding will be administered by local authorities and applications are expected to open on June 15.
Perth & Kinross Council head of planning and development David Littlejohn said: “We have been working hard to process applications as quickly as possible to ensure firms across Perth and Kinross get the support they need when they need it.
“Tourism is one of our most important sectors so this additional support for B&B owners will be crucial in helping these small businesses survive the current lockdown so they can begin welcoming visitors again, once it is safe to do so.”