Cost of Living Crisis Summit
Business representatives are being invited to a summit being held by Mayor Fiaz next Wednesday which signals the vital next phase of Newham’s cost of living crisis response.
The Cost of Living Crisis Summit will bring together a wide range of partners from across the borough and it will be sharing some specially commissioned research and insights about the prognosis for Newham. Critically, it will formulate an action plan which builds on what we already have in place to support thousands of families, children and young people who are amongst our most vulnerable.
The cost of living crisis impacts everyone in the borough and that’s why by working together we can contribute to the urgent borough-wide response as we head into the autumn months.
Also, look out for details of a forthcoming business-focussed event about the crisis.
UK Shared Prosperity Fund webinar
 In April the UK Government published the prospectus and UK-wide funding allocations for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which supports local investment as part of the wider Levelling Up Fund and will be launched soon.
This webinar from the GLA and London Councils on Tuesday 13 September from 16:00-17:15 is open to any individual or organisation wanting to learn more about UKSPF, including the forthcoming launch and its three investment priorities: Community and Place, Supporting Local Business, People and Skills.
For more information:
Recovery Loan Scheme update
In Issue 52 we announced that the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) will be extended to June 2024 due to the cost of living crisis. This scheme helps businesses access finance so that they can manage their cashflow, invest and grow.
Key features include:
- borrowing of up to £2m per business
- support with term loans, overdrafts, asset finance and invoice finance facilities
- minimum term is three months and the maximum is six years (this may vary from lender to lender)
- you can still apply even if you previously secured a CBILS, CLBILS, BBLS or RLS loan.
RLS is managed by the British Business Bank through accredited lenders. For a full list of current accredited lenders:
Advert
Making Tax Digital programme
Businesses which file annual VAT returns can use their VAT online account until 15 May 2023.
By law, VAT registered businesses must now sign up to the Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme and use MTD compatible software to keep their VAT records and file their VAT returns.
If you don’t sign up for MTD and file your VAT returns through MTD compatible software, you may have to pay a penalty – you must sign up to MTD before you file your next return. The best way for you to avoid penalties is to start using MTD now.
To find a list of MTD compatible software providers:
East Ham to star in this year’s Open House Festival
The renowned and ever popular Open House Festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month.
The festival is about celebrating London’s architecture, landscapes, communities and neighbourhoods and this year it has an extended two week-long programme, taking place 8-21 September. Newham has over 30 different events – guided walks, workshops, behind the scenes tours and much more!
Neighbourhoods is a new feature this year and East Ham plays a starring role, along with seven other ones around London. Kenny Orellana, an Open House volunteer and East Ham resident, says: “East Ham brings people together. But people here are not afraid to question the status quo, hoping to make the changes we want to see. Being part of Open House Festival and leaving our ‘doors open’ to other Londoners helps East Ham’s buildings to enrich their present and share their history.”
The Royal Docks is also a key attraction, with drop-in visits to the newly relocated City Hall, home to the Mayor of London and the GLA. Other Royal Docks attractions include the opportunity to explore Millennium Mills, which is at the heart of the redevelopment of Silvertown.
Newham Council has provided funding to the festival in order to help with the programme in Newham, which encourages visitors to the borough whose spending helps the local economy.
To explore this year’s full list of festival programmes:
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Advert
Workplace Charging Scheme
The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) provides grants of up to 75% of the total cost of purchasing and installing EV chargepoints. It’s open to businesses, charities and public sector organisations, as long as they meet certain criteria.
While businesses may use the grant for staff and fleet chargepoint only, charities, hotels and other accommodation providers can use the grant for guests or visitor chargepoints.
For more information:
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However, if you are a landlord or home-based business:
We are consulting on our Local Flood Risk Management Plan
We are seeking views on our Local Flood Risk Management Plan to ensure that we have a strategy which provides a clear framework for our management of the flood risk to businesses and residents.
The plan has been developed against the backdrop of climate change and its impact on rainfall.
To give us your views please fill in the survey using the link below by Sunday 9 October.
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Free e-business support programme
 In partnership with ourselves, Newham College has launched a new programme that will support 550 SMEs in the borough to capitalise on emerging digital and e-commerce technologies to drive their long-term growth.
Called the Local London E-business Support Programme, it provides a menu of support and training to develop skills and knowledge of digital technology and applications across all sectors including:
- e-commerce
- digital business tools
- online marketing and trading
- social media training
- establishing a strong online presence
- e-tendering and crowd funding
- cyber security and data protection.
If you have been trading for a minimum of six months and would like to simply improve your online presence, increase turnover by creating content that converts into actual sales or just want to introduce new efficient CRM technologies that will help you save time and money in the long-term, then this e-business programme is for you. It will give you access to expert digital business advisors who can help you to organically grow your business. They will tailor the support and provide sessions that work around your availability.
Supporting Newham’s economy
In February-March this year we awarded £1,124,561 through the Additional Restrictions Grant: Large Grant Scheme to nine organisations to help support a broad range of projects and activities centred around the eight pillars of our Towards a Better Newham Covid-19 Recovery Strategy. These grants build on Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz’s Building a Fairer Newham commitment through which we are creating an inclusive economy which works for local people and supports their wellbeing and financial security. The grants provide beneficiaries with both capital and revenue funding for initiatives to help boost local economic activity.
Read here about what Stratford Original Business Improvement District is doing with its £249,999 grant:
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 Queen Mary University of London's qNomics Programme provides free services and support to businesses, including advice and training in finance, business planning and business growth.
It’s delivered by students from the School of Economics and Finance faculty under the supervision of finance and business professionals who volunteer their services.
The programme starts this month and ends next March and is on a first come, first served basis.
For more information on the programme beginning in September:
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