FOI request (FOIR-196606561)

I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information:

Regarding the £10,000 COVID-19 Small Business Grant Fund for businesses with rate relief or rural rate relief:

1. What is the council's process for communicating with eligible businesses and handling applications?

(e.g automatic payments, businesses notified via letter and asked to apply via link, email notification and link etc.)

2. When were businesses first notified by the council that they may be eligible to apply?

3. What is the payment turnaround time from receipt of application?

4. Is there a staggered process for making payments, and what is the process? (e.g do you deal with first 1000 applications in a block and pay them by a certain date, before moving onto the next 1000 applications etc.)

5. How many businesses within your council jurisdiction are eligible for the grant?

6. How many applications have been received as of April 17 2020?

7. How many applications have been rejected as of April 17 2020?

8. How many businesses have been paid as of April 17 2020?