Helping businesses to bounce back

August was a month in which we were sadly reminded that there is always a small minority of troublemakers, unrepresentative of true Londoners, who given the opportunity will take part in mindless acts of violence and theft.

But there is a huge majority of people of all backgrounds who have come together as Londoners and as neighbours to put their communities back on their feet. In the last couple of weeks I have been walking around the city, talking to people and watching as the transformation has taken place. I have seen shoe shops reopen, pizza parlours back in business and I’ve watched the glaziers putting windows back into frames.

I've also seen how people are going out of their way to use their local shops, restaurants and stores that were attacked during those nights of unprecedented destruction. However, I have witnessed too firsthand how confidence is returning as it should and as it must. But as I talked to those businesses and shopkeepers across London it became absolutely clear that there is still a pressing need to do all we can to help them recover.

That is why we have launched the High Street Fund to provide immediate and practical financial assistance to get businesses back on their feet, through grants of up to £2,000. Chaired by Bill Castell, of the Wellcome Trust, the fund was started with an initial £500,000 commitment from City Hall and, thanks to the fantastic generosity of leading firms such as Barclays, BP, Capita, Deloitte, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, Santander and a host of local authorities, it now stands in excess of £3 million.

The whole point of the fund is to help businesses that were damaged during the riots with a cash boost - to get wages paid or to get stock back on the shelves to help them keep going. So I urge any small business that was affected to get on to The High Street Fund website today, where all the details about how to claim can be found. We are expecting to make payments within a few days of receiving applications.

Separately, along with the government we have also put in place a £70 million fund specifically targeted at longer term projects that will help to regenerate areas that were damaged and help to make them better places to live, work and invest in.

We were all deeply moved by the sight of people who came into work to find their business torched or trashed and I know that there are individuals and companies out there who are willing to help - and you can.

Whilst the High Street Fund has been kicked off by some amazingly generous benefactors anyone out there can make a donation and Bill Castell has an aim to get it up to £10 million.

If we can reach that target then the hustle and bustle of commerce will quickly return to those affected high streets that are crucial not only for successful and thriving communities but also to the whole London economy.

Visit the High Street Fund website.