 Over the last three weeks, Basildon Council staff have processed business grant applications totalling more than £19.5m to help keep 1454 borough businesses going through the coronavirus pandemic.
Yesterday, we have sent reminder letters, text messages and emails to 965 businesses who haven’t responded to our initial correspondence to remind them to contact us as soon as possible so that we can confirm their eligibility and transfer their funding. However, we understand that during these challenging times there are some business premises that may be closed or because of remote working, contact details may have changed.
We would urge any business who haven't already contacted us to go to our website and fill out the online form.
For the Small Business Grant visit: www.basildon.gov.uk/article/7994/COVID-19-Grant-support-for-small-businesses
For the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund visit: www.basildon.gov.uk/rhgrant
The grants are not loans and businesses will not be required to pay the money back later.
The new Bounce Back Loans scheme was announced by the Chancellor on Monday and will allow businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000. Loans should reach businesses within days – providing immediate support to those that need it as easily as possible. Loans will be interest free for the first 12 months, and from Monday 4 May, businesses can apply online by completing a short and simple form.
The Government will provide lenders with a 100% guarantee for the loan and pay any fees and interest for the first 12 months. No repayments will be due during the first 12 months.
The scheme will launch for applications on Monday 4 May. Firms will be able to access these loans through a network of accredited lenders. The government will work with lenders to ensure loans delivered through this scheme are advanced as quickly as possible and agree a low standardised level of interest for the remaining period of the loan.
You can apply for a loan if your business:
- is based in the UK
- has been negatively affected by coronavirus
- was not an ‘undertaking in difficulty’ on 31 December 2019
Please note you cannot apply if you’re already claiming under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
A new online learning platform to help boost the nation’s skills while people are staying at home has been launched.
Free courses are available through The Skills Toolkit. The new platform gives people access to free, high-quality digital and numeracy courses to help build up their skills, progress in work and boost their job prospects.
These are the skills which are highly valued by employers and sought after in a wide range of jobs. With more people expected to be working and studying remotely in the coming months, the platform offers a great opportunity to learn new skills to help to get ahead online and gain the knowledge we’ll all need for the future. The platform also offers employees who have been furloughed an opportunity to keep up their skills development while they are at home.
The courses on offer cover a range of levels, from introductory level, focusing on everyday maths and tools for using email and social media more effectively at work to more advanced training, which includes coding and programming. All courses are online and flexible, so people can work through them at their own pace.
High street shops and other companies under strain will be protected from aggressive rent collection and asked to pay what they can during the coronavirus pandemic. Government will temporarily ban the use of statutory demands and winding up orders where a company cannot pay their bills due to coronavirus.
Legislation will also be brought forward to prevent landlords using commercial rent arrears recovery (CRAR) unless 90 days or more of unpaid rent is owed. The new legislation to protect tenants will be in force until 30 June, and can be extended in line with the moratorium on commercial lease forfeiture.
We know times are challenging for many local businesses in these unprecedented circumstances.
The aim of our Business Hub is to support our local business community.
You can contact us to discuss any business queries you have, including help in enabling your business to access the current set of support packages announced by the government.
To get in touch please email coronavirusbusiness@Basildon.gov.uk or call 01268 533333 and choose option 1.
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If you are a new start-up, self-employed or your business has been interrupted due the impact of COVID-19, you may have some questions and be seeking guidance.
Whether it be to ensure business continuity throughout the pandemic or putting yourself in the best position to restart at a later date.
There are a number of organisations that offer funded Business Advice from qualified business advisors, please email us at businessassist@basildon.gov.uk with contact details and a short description of your current situation for us to refer you on to one of our contacts for free support.
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