New government Covid-19 measures
On 22 September the government announced additional national measures to limit the spread of coronavirus. The new national restrictions are:
1. Office workers who can work from home are being asked to do so.
2. From 24 September all pubs, bars and restaurants must operate table-service only, except for takeaways.
3. All hospitality venues must close at 10pm.
4. More people must wear face coverings - staff working in retail; all users of taxis and private hire vehicles; and staff and customers in indoor hospitality venues - except when seated at tables to eat or drink.
5. In retail, leisure, tourism and other sectors, government’s Covid-secure guidelines will become legal obligations.
6. From 28 September a maximum of 15 people will be able to attend wedding ceremonies and receptions.
7. The rule of six is being extended to all adult indoor team sports.
8. Business conferences, exhibitions and large sporting events will not be able to reopen from 1 October.
9. Stronger penalties for failing to adhere to government restrictions: a fine of up to £10,000 for businesses that break the rules and the penalty for failing to wear a mask or breaking the rule of six will now double to £200 for a first offence.
On 18 September the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, convened an urgent meeting with council leaders, Public Health England and government officials, prompted by the escalation of COVID-19 cases in the capital over a relatively short period of time. The rate of cases per 100,000 over the past seven days has increased from 18.8 to 25 cases, and that’s why the Mayor of London has said that further lockdown measures in the capital is likely.
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Working from home and working safely guidance
To help contain the virus, office workers who can work effectively from home should do so over the winter. Where an employer, in consultation with their employee, judges an employee can carry out their normal duties from home they should do so. Public sector employees working in essential services, including education settings, should continue to go into work where necessary. Anyone else who cannot work from home should go to their place of work. More here.
Venues required by law to record contact details
Premises and venues across England must have a system in place to record contact details of their customers, visitors and staff in the latest move to break the chains of transmission of coronavirus. Further details can be found here.
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Kickstart Scheme
The government has introduced a new Kickstart Scheme, a £2 billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of high quality, six-month work placements aimed at those aged 16 to 24 who are on Universal Credit and are deemed to be at risk of long term unemployment.
Funding available for each job will cover 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.
Find more guidance and promotional materials here.
Apprenticeships
To help businesses offer new apprenticeships, employers will be able to claim an incentive payment from the government for hiring a new apprentice between 1 August 2020 and 31 January 2021.
For every apprentice that is a new employee to your business, you will get up to £2,000 if they are aged 16 to 24 and up to £1,500 if they are 25 or over.
The incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice is designed to support employers to find the skills they need to help recover from the economic impact of Covid-19 whilst creating new jobs.
Employers can also receive an additional payment of £1,000 if the apprentice starts the apprenticeship aged:
- 16 to 18
- 19 to 24 years old and has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan provided by their local authority or has been in the care of their local authority
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Age group
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Government funds available for apprenticeships
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Employer contribution required for apprenticeships
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Grants available for employers taking on a new apprentice
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Grants available for employers for putting existing staff on apprenticeship
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16-18
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100%
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0%
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£3000
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£1000
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19-24
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95%
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5%
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£2000
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£0
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25+
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95%
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5%
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£1500
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£0
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https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/employer/funding-an-apprenticeship
If you would like to take on an apprentice or find out more information please contact NewhamBusinessDesk@newham.gov.uk
Discretionary grants: all paid
Following our announcement in the last issue that we were launching a Discretionary Grant Scheme for certain types of small and micro-businesses, we received 1,200 applications from small businesses in multi-tenanted properties and permanent market traders and other retailers – the former were eligible for £5,000 each and the latter £3,000 each. Despite the strict criteria, the majority of applications were successful and we were able to award the full amount available, £2,883,250 to 664 of these businesses. We were also able to support 96 child care businesses.
Positive feedback
Robert Strauss, Studio Manager of WAX: "Recently, as a small business working in Newham we faced financial hardship and uncertainty as a result of the pandemic and its nature of effect on the creative industry. Based in West Ham for the previous five years, it was our mission to survive as a business; yet, while various programmes abound, we were deemed ineligible for various grants due to category or technicality.
"When we heard the discretionary grants would be made available, I spoke to various staff at Newham Council who were all very helpful, informative and eager to help.
"I would wish to highlight exceptional members of your staff, most notably Andrew Perkins who was of invaluable help and compassion during the application process, as was Stephen Gear, who was also of assistance with his detailed understanding of the procedure. It is with the utmost respect and consideration that we thank you, Newham Council."
Business profile: Diesel Gym
Diesel Gym teaches martial arts from its base on Dockside Road in Royal Albert Dock. Run by Cliff Bura and managed by Jamie Scott, it is a non-profit organisation and, like all gyms, it was prohibited from opening during lockdown. However, it made the most of going online when over 1,000 individual people took part in over 200 hours of free Zoom classes that were provided primarily to the local community
Cliff Bura said: “Lockdown was a worrying time for us financially, as it was for all businesses of course. The gym had substantial fixed costs in of around £10,000 per month, which we had to find a way to cover during the four month closure. Because we’re in a building with several other tenants and therefore we didn’t hold a direct business rates account (we paid rates through our landlord), we weren’t eligible for a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant so we had to depend on the goodwill of our membership and locals to help us. Working alongside the Newham Business Desk, which was a great source of support, the government finally realised this gap in funding and released the Discretionary Grant Fund from which we were awarded £5,000 which, with support from Sport England, helped during this difficult period. With more members joining every day since our re-opening we are cautiously optimistic about the future. However, with class sizes being limited there is still a ceiling to our economic recovery. We have seen great success in our outdoor functional fitness classes which take place in our car park, but with winter coming we need to be able to move these classes indoors safely and are currently applying for grants or sponsorship, in order to make some internal alterations to meet the challenges winter will bring.”
Mayor of London's Back to Business Fund
The Mayor of London's Back to Business Fund, Pay It Forward London, enables businesses to raise vital funds and stay afloat, rebuild and recover from the impacts of Covid-19 through crowdfunding. Since its launch in April, over 10,000 Londoners have donated over £500,000 to support their favourite local businesses. Through the Back to Business Fund, the Mayor will match every pound raised by a business up to a maximum of £5,000 - or 50% of their campaign target - to help them expand their operation online, invest in their future and adapt to safe, socially distant trading.
To apply for funding you need a crowdfunding project. Start or continue adding your project and, if eligible, you'll be prompted to apply. Before completing your application for match funding we recommend that you read the accompanying guidance fully. You’ll find everything you need to know here.
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London Growth Hub
London Growth Hub will launch its £1.6m new SME grant fund from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Eligible SMEs will have access to grants between £1,000-£5,000. The purpose of this funding is to help access professional, legal, financial or other advice and/or new technology and other minor equipment to address immediate needs in response to the impact of COVID-19. The scheme is not currently open to applications, but to register your interest now please click here.
NHS COVID-19 app
Thank you to all of you who are now displaying the QR poster on your premises, which has subsequently become a legal requirement for certain businesses. Newham was one of three app pilots – along with the Isle of Wight and the NHS responders, who are spread across the country. The app is an important tool to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 alongside others which remain of critical importance: social distancing, handwashing and wearing face coverings, and testing and manual contact tracing.
If you haven’t been able to yet, create a QR poster for your business at www.gov.uk/create-coronavirus-qr-poster This will allow people to check in when they visit your premises and is a very simple process that takes less than a minute. If you are unable to print your own QR poster, your local library will be happy to do this for you.
Thanks also to those businesses which joined our training seminars and gave feedback on the app and communications through the focus groups we arranged.
The NHS COVID-19 app team has just released a new video about privacy and data protection. Privacy was one of the biggest barriers to residents choosing to not download the app. The contents of the video are derived from questions and concerns raised by residents during our webinar feedback sessions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/lCH__yEHa4s
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Health Protection (Coronavirus, Collection of Contact Details etc. and Related Requirements) Regulations 2020
Under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Collection of Contact Details etc. and Related Requirements) Regulations 2020, Newham’s Trading Standards service now has the ability to give fixed penalty notices with regard to breaches of relevant regulations. It is also in discussion with Public Health about use of closure powers for venues, etc. that are not complying and are increasing the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Trading Standards are looking to start revisiting premises, beginning with those it deems high risk and/or have failed to heed previous advice to seek compliance or take the appropriate action against the business.
Business rates holiday
London Councils has joined forces with London business leaders and the Mayor of London in calling for the government to extend the business rates holiday, as the capital’s economy continues to struggle from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The current 100 per cent relief for businesses in the retail, hospitality, leisure and childcare sectors is due to end next March. As part of a joint submission to the government’s business rates review, the Mayor of London and London Councils are calling for an extension to the current business rates holiday to 2021/22.
Newham Council to be first in London to use health, wellbeing and happiness to measure progress in COVID-19 recovery strategy
Newham will become the first borough in London to use livelihood, well-being and happiness as its prime measure of economic success as part of an ambitious recovery strategy in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz launched the Council’s Towards a Better Newham Covid-19 Recovery Strategy in July to an online audience of local businesses, charities and other voluntary sector partners. The strategy sets out the foundation for how the Council will respond to the economic impact of COVID-19 as it rebuilds a better Newham. The strategy, Towards a Better Newham, represents a fundamental shift, placing the health and wellbeing of residents and race equality, central to the Council’s aspirations of inclusive growth, quality jobs and fairness in Newham. The strategy will also ensure that every resident under 25 will be able to access a range of positive activities to support their long-term prosperity, with a new Youth Empowerment Fund to be launched in the coming weeks to help them overcome barriers to economic participation. Additionally, the strategy will focus on the borough’s six town centres and 13 local high streets as the focus of investment and revival, so that they become centres of community and civic activity as well as commerce and business. Inspired by Paris, the strategy will also transform these into ’15-minute neighbourhoods’, enabling people to access all social, civic and economic essentials within a 15-minute walk or cycle ride, to meet the Council’s air quality and climate change commitments. The strategy focuses on two distinct stages of activity: recovery and reorientation. Recovery focuses upon the next 12 months as the Council responds to sustained challenges for individuals and businesses. Reorientation will follow, with the focus changing to making the fundamental changes to create the inclusive economy the Council wants, to address inequalities, including race inequalities, as well as tackling the poverty and deprivation that residents still face.
It’s supported by an immediate action plan built around eight pillars of activity focused on the phases of recovery and reorientation.
- Pillar 1: The Council will adopt more appropriate measures of economic success, prioritising prosperity, personal wellbeing and happiness ahead of the traditional Government-endorsed measures of growth, productivity and land value.
- Pillar 2: The Council will support every resident aged under 25 to participate in positive activity which supports their long-term prosperity, and in the coming weeks the Council will announce details of its new Youth Empowerment Fund.
- Pillar 3: The Council will develop a consolidated service to ensure that all residents can access the support they need to cope in recession and thrive in our new economy.
- Pillar 4: The Council will ensure that residents are healthy enough to have more rewarding engagement with the economy.
- Pillar 5: The Council will support the development of ’15-minute neighbourhoods’ across its town centres and high streets so that residents can access all social, civic and economic essentials by a 15-minute walk or cycle ride for healthy and happy communities.
- Pillar 6: The Council will quicken the greening of Newham’s economy, capitalising on local sparks to support evolution as London’s greenest economy.
- Pillar 7: The Council will get a fairer deal for Newham workers, making sure work is rewarding and enjoyable for those employed in the borough.
- Pillar 8: The Council will welcome investment, but only where this supports its objectives and delivers benefits to the borough as a whole.
Opportunity knocks for budding entrepreneurs
A collaborative programme running 20 October – 16 March 2021 at Expressway London has been launched to support young entrepreneurial talent in Newham. It’s one of four initiatives agreed between General Projects and the Council in a partnership designed to deliver a range of community wealth building initiatives which is expected to generate over £2.6m of community and social value over the next five years.
The Incubator Programme offers 30 graduates and young people seeking to start their own businesses an opportunity to work for free for six months in a building filled with networking and growth potential. Successful applicants will be paired with a successful entrepreneur at the Expressway building (which is under the Silvertown flyover in the Royal Docks), helping young people to work out how to get from where they are to where they want to be, whether this be to develop a prototype, raise money against a business plan or to launch a social enterprise. The programme is now fully subscribed for this October’s start date but a further 30 places will be available from the beginning of March 2020, with applications now open. As well as free mentoring, the desk space is free and skills development workshops will be provided free of charge too.
Jacob Sandelson of General Projects said: “Expressway is home to 162 small and local businesses, collectively employing over 1,000 people. Half of them are involved in manufacturing, fashion, brewing and e-commerce, with the other half of the building occupied by a diverse range of office occupiers in business lines including IT, recruitment and training. There’s a wealth of activity and opportunity, therefore, to attract young people with all sorts of different ambitions – but all of whom have one thing in common: to learn from others and develop their skills in order to improve their career prospects. This is the talent we want to incubate and grow. All the businesses at Expressway want to help this happen and by giving up their time and passing on their knowledge, it will.”
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 Serviced office space
by Duncan Boak
Knowledge Dock Business Centre Manager
The Knowledge Dock Business Centre at the University of East London’s Docklands campus provides affordable, high-quality serviced office and co-working space.
The Centre is home to businesses from a range of sectors, including tech, professional services, IT, health, social enterprises and charities. Our location on a modern university campus provides businesses with the opportunity to grow and develop through collaboration with University students, via internships and placements, and academic staff through research partnerships.
We currently have a number of offices available that will seat 6-8 people, with prices starting at just over £1,000 + VAT per month. Co-working costs £99 + VAT per desk per month. The nearest station is Cyprus DLR station next door, which is only 20 minutes from Shoreditch and 15 minutes from London City Airport.
If you’d like to find out more about how being based at the University of East London’s Business Centre can benefit your business then please contact me at dboak@uel.ac.uk or on 020 8223 6450
Other government updates
- Guidance for early years and childcare providers has been updated with new content in a number of areas.
- Guidance for restaurants, pubs, bars and takeaway services has been updated with information on penalties for breaching the rules and guidance on Test and Trace data and display of NHS QR codes.
- Safer transport guidance for operators has been updated with changes to guidance on working from home, wearing face coverings in retail and hospitality venues located within transport hubs and on the requirement for passengers to wear face coverings in taxis and private hire vehicles.
- VAT deferral: where a business has deferred its VAT, it will no longer have to pay a lump sum at the end of March next year. They will have the option of splitting it into smaller, interest free payments over the course of 11 months, which will benefit up to half a million businesses. The government has also extended the 15% VAT reduction for the tourism and hospitality sectors to the end of March 2021.
- Self-employed: the government is continuing its support for millions of self-employed individuals, by extending the Self Employment Income Support Scheme Grant (SEISS). An initial taxable grant will be provided to those which are currently eligible for SEISS and are continuing to actively trade, but face reduced demand due to coronavirus. The initial lump sum will cover three months’ worth of profits for the period from November to the end of January next year. This is worth 20% of average monthly profits, up to a total of £1,875.
- Bounce Back Loans: the deadline to apply for the loans has been extended to 30 November, ensuring even more businesses can benefit from government-backed support. The term in which they need to be repaid can also be extended from six to 10 years.
Have your say on City Hall's relocation
In summer 2020 the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, began the process of consulting GLA staff on plans for the Greater London Authority (GLA) to leave the current City Hall building next year and move its headquarters to The Crystal building in the Royal Docks. Visit the Crystal consultation website to find out more about the plans, what this will mean for local residents and how you can share your views.
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