Nearly £100 million was paid out to mainly hospitality, leisure and retail businesses on the Island, the Isle of Wight Council's leading cabinet members have been told.

A report reveals the scale of government funding needed to support local firms through the Covid-19 pandemic.

County Hall has paid out £99,799,908 in 21,984 individual grant payments, since May 2020.

During 2020 and 2021, the government allocated money to local authorities to support business, initially paid on the basis of business rates, but later topped up with other funds that councils could distribute to other businesses that did not pay rates, such as taxi drivers, market stall holders and those in the supply chain for the tourism, hospitality and retail sector.

A final grant was provided to assist businesses prepare for reopening after the last national lockdown.

Applications closed in May 2021 and no more money is now expected from the government.

On the Isle of Wight, about 0.25% of the total remains to be distributed, and councillors will be considering how to make best use of the funds to aid the recovery of the Island’s economy.

It could include initiatives like Small Business Saturday and ‘pop up’ shops in the lead up to the Christmas period; delivering training for businesses linked to the recovery from Covid-19; work placements and apprenticeships in hospitality; and support for cultural activity.

The government has said that the money from all the grants has to be used by the end of March 2022, so councillors will decide now how the remaining funds will be allocated before that deadline.