COVID-19 Business Support

Coventry City Council sent this bulletin at 03-04-2020 05:30 PM BST

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Covid 19 Business Support
Grants for Businesses – Fraud Prevention
JLR starts production of protective visors
University reopens building to aid COVID-19 fight

Covid 19 Business Support

Council business support specialists are continuing to monitor announcements and are in daily contact with the UK Government and other strategic partners to ensure that our businesses can quickly get access to the support that is being made available. The Council webpage has been established to inform and support our local people and businesses. The page links to the official Government website with the latest information on the support available and highlights key local developments which are summarised below:

Small Business Grant Fund/Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund

Grant support is now available through Coventry City Council as part of the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF) to eligible local businesses. Businesses must check the criteria and complete the verification form.

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) has been significantly expanded along with changes to the scheme’s features and eligibility criteria. All viable small businesses affected by COVID-19 are now eligible, not just those unable to secure regular commercial financing. A new scheme has also been announced to bolster support for larger firms not currently eligible for loans. More details on the changes.

To receive alerts of the latest updates, please connect with our LinkedIn page and Twittter feeds. Don't forget to share this newsletter with your contacts!

Grants for Businesses – Fraud Prevention

Be aware at the current time there is an increased risk of fraud. This includes risks that someone may impersonate the Council either to commit fraud against your business or to gain information allowing them to submit an application for a business grant.

There are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself:

Check the email address of the sender - Don’t click on or download anything you don’t trust - for example, if you get an email from a company with a strange email address.
You may be contacted by someone offering to fill out the form for the business rate grant on your behalf. Please don’t accept any offer to do this, even if they say they work for the Council.

If the Business Rates Team contact you regarding your grant:

They will only provide links to government websites
They will give you the FR number of the verification form you submitted
They may have to ask you a question regarding your account which only you would know, in order to validate the grant application. However they will not ask you to divulge any personal information
Do not reveal your business rates account number or bank details to anyone you are not sure of.

If you are still unsure you can also contact them on business.rates@coventry.gov.uk.

JLR starts production of protective visors

Jaguar Land Rover has turned over its prototype build operations to start production of protective visors for keyworkers to help in the fight against coronavirus.

The only reusable, NHS-approved visor of its kind, the design has been developed in consultation with a team of NHS healthcare professionals for rapid prototype printing at the Advanced Product Creation Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire.

Through collaboration with companies such as Pro2Pro in Telford, the ambition is to produce 5,000 visors a week for NHS trusts across the country.

Coventry University has reopened its Alison Gingell building to help the NHS train staff to take up clinical roles in the fight against Covid-19 in Warwickshire.

The £59m building, which houses the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (HLS), will be opened for two days initially to train medical students to prepare them to undertake new clinical responsibilities with South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT).

The university is providing its staff - including cleaners, facilities managers, security, catering, and technicians - to help support the training activities.