Update on the NSE and MCC #grantshambles following my meeting with Scot. Gov yesterday afternoon;- It didn’t escape my notice that yesterday was April Fool’s Day!
Applications awarded and paid as of yesterday at noon 14,352
Total amount paid to date £57 million
Scot. Gov initially made a fund pot of £60 million available however it is clear that this fund pot needs to be increased as there are currently @5000 applications still within the process queue.
Scot Gov have committed to increasing the fund pot to ensure that all eligible applicants that are currently within the process queue will be awarded the grant.
In terms of the new appointment booking system. 97% of those asked to call have been able to confirm the required ‘missing / incorrect’ info required by the UMi team and they have had their grant application accepted and passed for payment while the applicant was still on the call. This is the intended process outcome though there is provision for further appointments to be made if information the applicant is asked for on the call is not to hand.
As previously mentioned these appointments are scheduled on the basis of 60 minutes per call. Previously the phone team were booking 50 calls per day – this is being increased to 60 per day on the basis that many applicants have flown through on the telephone – many of them in under 15 minutes.
200 appointments have been processed and grants passed for payment.
Scot Gov will continue to monitor the call handling, so please add your updates in the group. As of yesterday the most distance appointment slot booked was apparently 23rd April.
Applications awarded and paid as of yesterday at noon 14,352
Total amount paid to date £57 million
Scot. Gov initially made a fund pot of £60 million available however it is clear that this fund pot needs to be increased as there are currently @5000 applications still within the process queue.
Scot Gov have committed to increasing the fund pot to ensure that all eligible applicants that are currently within the process queue will be awarded the grant.
In terms of the new appointment booking system. 97% of those asked to call have been able to confirm the required ‘missing / incorrect’ info required by the UMi team and they have had their grant application accepted and passed for payment while the applicant was still on the call. This is the intended process outcome though there is provision for further appointments to be made if information the applicant is asked for on the call is not to hand.
As previously mentioned these appointments are scheduled on the basis of 60 minutes per call. Previously the phone team were booking 50 calls per day – this is being increased to 60 per day on the basis that many applicants have flown through on the telephone – many of them in under 15 minutes.
200 appointments have been processed and grants passed for payment.
Scot Gov will continue to monitor the call handling, so please add your updates in the group. As of yesterday the most distance appointment slot booked was apparently 23rd April.
Scot. Gov. have written to HMRC and await their response in respect of the tax year grants awards which will be given for the current tax year but for which payments maybe be received into the next tax year. This will apparently affect those that operate their business on a ‘cash basis’ rather than an ‘accrual basis’. This is because accrual basis already has provision for allocating funds to the the year in which they are attributable to. Scot Gov work on an accrual basis.
Cash / Accrual basis explained
The cash basis of accounting records revenues when cash is received and expenses when cash is paid out. The accrual basis of accounting records revenues when they are earned, and expenses when resources are used.
Specific mentions Brian;- Scot. Gov. like myself feel that the re-invite email you received after being accepted was an error. Please let me have your accepted application number and Scot Gov / UMi will look into why that happened.
I will email this to them.
Rachel;- Scot Gov also think your husband is likely to be offered a telephone appointment when they get to his application. Like myself they saw reasonable cause in hubby paying his set up cost from his personal bank account before setting up his business bank account. We will follow through on this Rachel so please let me have hubby’s application details – name / number etc. I will email these over.
As a side point;- apparently for both of these grants it is acceptable to use a personal account – a business banks account is not a requirement.
Donne please can you let me have your application date and numbers please as the 27 days they kept you dangling before inviting you to reapply is beyond atrocious.
Cash / Accrual basis explained
The cash basis of accounting records revenues when cash is received and expenses when cash is paid out. The accrual basis of accounting records revenues when they are earned, and expenses when resources are used.
Specific mentions Brian;- Scot. Gov. like myself feel that the re-invite email you received after being accepted was an error. Please let me have your accepted application number and Scot Gov / UMi will look into why that happened.
I will email this to them.
Rachel;- Scot Gov also think your husband is likely to be offered a telephone appointment when they get to his application. Like myself they saw reasonable cause in hubby paying his set up cost from his personal bank account before setting up his business bank account. We will follow through on this Rachel so please let me have hubby’s application details – name / number etc. I will email these over.
As a side point;- apparently for both of these grants it is acceptable to use a personal account – a business banks account is not a requirement.
Donne please can you let me have your application date and numbers please as the 27 days they kept you dangling before inviting you to reapply is beyond atrocious.
Next meeting is 11am Thursday 8th April.
As always anything you want me to raise at that meeting please add to the thread in our Facebook group
