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A full range of business support measures have been made available to UK businesses and employees.
Follow the links to see the latest updates from Government, find financial support for your business and click here if you are self employed.
The Government has set up a business support helpline on 0300 456 3565. This is available Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm.
Visit the Malvern Hills website to sign up for the latest updates on business support and our regular email newsletter.
The closing date for grant applications was 26th June 2019 and payments will be made in the period between now and the 31st July 2020. We would be grateful if you do not enquiry about progress until after this date.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak MP, gave his summer economic statement in which he set out a ‘Plan for Jobs’ to continue the UK’s recovery from the coronavirus outbreak.
The rate of VAT applied on most tourism and hospitality-related activities will be cut from 20% to 5%. Guidance is now available VAT registered businesses may apply a temporary 5% reduced rate of VAT to certain supplies relating to hospitality, hotel and holiday accommodation and admission to certain attractions. The temporary reduced rate may be applied between 15 July 2020 and 12 January 2021.
Eligible attractions for the temporary reduced rate of VAT include shows, theatres, circuses, fairs, amusement parks, concerts, museums, zoos, cinemas, exhibitions and other cultural events and facilities, but do not include admission to sporting events.
Live performances that charge a fee to view online may be eligible, depending on circumstances and assuming they are not already covered by a Cultural VAT exemption. Find more information about which attractions are eligible for the reduced rate of VAT.
To encourage people to safely return to eating out at restaurants the Government has set up a new 'Eat Out to Help Out' discount scheme. It will provide a 50% reduction for sit-down meals in cafes, restaurants and pubs across the UK from Monday to Wednesday every week throughout August 2020.
More information has been released on the new Eat Out to Help Out Scheme including information for businesses on how to register your business for the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme.
A bonus scheme worth up to £9 billion for firms has been announced to re-employ furloughed workers. An employer who brings someone back off furlough, and keeps them in a job until January, will get a £1,000 bonus. To get the bonus, firms must pay at least £520 each month. More details to follow shortly.
A new Kickstart Scheme is effective from the 1st August 2020 until January 2021. Employers will be paid directly the grant of up to £6500 but must create a new job and the employee must have been claiming universal credit.
The person must be under 25 years of age, paid at least the national minimum wage and be in post for a minimum of 6 months. Training in the post is not required. The inter-relationship between the Kick start Grant and the Apprentice subsidy has not yet been clarified by central government.
From 1st August to January 2021 businesses will be given £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire under the age of 25. This is in addition to the existing £1,000 payment already provided for new 16-18 year old apprentices or special health care plan. Those hiring apprentices over the age of 25 will receive a £1500 bonus and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan. More details to follow shortly. This means that employers could receive up to £3000 for hiring a 16 to 18 year old.
The payment of the Malvern Hills Apprenticeship Grants of £1500 for an apprentices taken on in construction, renewable energy, Agri-tech areas, IT and manufacturing, or Apprenticeship grants through CITB are not affected by this scheme.
Could we please ask any apprentice employers to complete this form on line to claim a grant from Malvern Hills.
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/preview/NYXJTE/811622A93F7F6F9098E2EF8325C086
Leisure facilities and beauty services will be allowed to reopen over the coming weeks, the government has announced.
- Outdoor pools will be able re-open from 11th July
- Indoor gyms, swimming pools and sports facilities can re-open from 25th July
- Grassroots sport will be able to return from this coming weekend, beginning with cricket
- Outdoor theatres will be able to start up from Saturday 11th July
- Small pilots of indoor performances, with socially distanced audiences, will also take place to help work out the best way for them to restart
- From 13 July, beauticians, tattooists, spas, tanning salons and other close-contact services can reopen "subject to some restrictions on particularly high-risk services"
Guidance for the reopening of sports facilities, has been published, including cleaning regimes, social distancing and protection for staff. The guidance can be viewed here
Measures include limiting the number of people using a facility at one time, reducing class sizes and spacing out equipment. Face coverings will not be mandatory in gyms.
Earlier this week a £1.57 billion support package for the arts, culture and heritage industries was announced, through which organisations from a range of sectors including the performing arts and theatres, heritage sites, historic palaces, museums, galleries, live music and independent cinema will be able to access emergency grants and loans. More details to follow.
Guidance for those providing hotel and other accommodation in England has been updated to reflect changes in effect from 4 July 2020. As they prepare to reopen, accommodation providers may refer to specific guidance for:
- Hotels and other guest accommodation
- Restaurants, pubs, bars and takeaway services
- Small marriages and civil partnerships
- Outdoor playgrounds and gyms
- Multi-purpose community facilities
- Accessing green spaces safely
Certain individuals arriving from overseas will be required by law to self-isolate for 14 days, and businesses providing holiday accommodation may provide rooms to those required to self-isolate. Accommodation for these purposes should adhere to the same guidelines as for other permitted stays, including on social distancing and cleaning.
If a guest is displaying symptoms of COVID-19, they should inform their accommodation provider, immediately self-isolate and request a test.
Guests who test positive for COVID-19 should return home if they can do so safely, and if they cannot reasonably return home they should work with the accommodation provider and local health care professionals to determine next steps. Unless otherwise provided for in the contractual terms of the booking, the guest will be expected to pay the costs of an extended stay in all but exceptional circumstances.
A statement on travel corridors has been published outlining the process by which the Government determined which countries and territories to exempt from mandatory self-isolation when arriving in England.
The Government will keep the requirements and exemptions set out in the regulations under review. The next review of the regulations will take place by 27 July 2020. For further information, please visit gov.uk/uk-border-control.
Guidance on how to self-isolate when travelling to the UK has been updated to reflect exemptions for certain travel corridor countries and territories.
Updated travel details and new coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance has also been published for individual travellers exempt from border rules in the UK, beyond those people travelling from travel corridor destinations.
Further information about the July 2020 payment on account deferment has been made available.
A series of 7 free webinars aimed at supporting businesses to reset, recover and rebuild in the light of the current pandemic.
The webinar series begin on:
Wednesday 15th July from 1.30pm until 2.30pm.
How to Keep your Company alive in times of Crises and Economic Disruption.
Click here to register
Places are limited. To book a free place please follow the link next to your preferred date below.
If you are not already registered on the site, you will be asked to first set a username and password before you are able to book on to a Business Futures webinar.
Wednesday 22nd July 2020 9.30 – 11.00
Reserve a Place 22nd July
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The ED team wants to fully understand the impact of the Coronavirus on specific businesses and the wider economy. This will help us tailor our service to you and feedback to Government to help shape their ongoing response.
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If you would like to talk one-to-one with a member of the ED team about your business experience and effects of Covid-19, please email us with your contact details ecodev@malvernhills.gov.uk
Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), working with Serco are relaunching Worcestershire skills survey and again requiring your support, the survey is seeking the views of Worcestershire employers to understand how organisations can be supported to develop the skills needed to adopt digital technologies.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SMY6PJG
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