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.
Worcestershire County Council has launched Here2Help Business to provide financial support and consultancy advice to help kickstart the local economy.
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can apply for up to £10,000 for a Graduate Development Support Grant to recruit a graduate employee for a one-year period. Sustain and Grow Grants up to £25,000 are also open to applicants.
The grant will assist Worcestershire businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic supporting them with projects to help aid recovery and future growth. A limited number of larger grants up to £100,000 will also be available for businesses across the county. These are available to help support projects that directly impact the COVID19 response.
There is also a capital grant provision for projects within the agriculture and horticulture sector.
It is anticipated that there will be high demand so to register your interest in any of the programmes click here now
Numerous projects across Worcestershire have been given the green light after £12m of Government funding has been announced by the government.
As part of the Government’s Getting Building Fund, Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership confirmed in July that it had been awarded £12m to fund capital projects and programmes, which will help support jobs, skills and infrastructure in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The list of projects within Worcestershire which will benefit from this new funding, has been announced and includes £1.85M for Malvern Technology Park expansion and £500,000 for Tenbury Flood defences. Further details are available here
The new Enterprising Worcestershire Programme will work in partnership with Worcestershire Libraries and the British Library to create Business and IP Centre Worcestershire “a thriving business community in your local library”. Libraries across Worcestershire (The Hive, Evesham, Malvern, Kidderminster, Redditch, Bromsgrove) will provide access to essential market and company intelligence, a range of IP and business guidance and one to one support, an inspiring programme of bitesize workshops and events devised and delivered by local partners. There will also be the creation of business ready spaces and connecting opportunities in libraries to support business start-up and growth.
The libraries are looking to engage with local businesses, preferably SMEs or sole traders, who are engaged in their local community and want to help create and contribute to the development of their library as a space for business support and signposting. They would be part of a group who meet (virtually for now) every 3-4 months to feed into the development of BIPC Worcestershire and the creation of the workspaces and to generate ideas for workshops and services
If you are interested please email BIPC@worcestershire.gov.uk to advise us and they’ll get in touch. A first get together will take place in early September.
In response to the challenges faced by businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic there has been significant investment in skills from central and local Government to support your recovery plans. Apprenticeships, Trainee-ships, investment in the National Careers Service, and a new kick start scheme are the crucial elements of a new ‘Plan for Jobs’ announced by the Chancellor, the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP.
See Inspiring Worcestershire’s summary of the new initiatives for employers following the summer statement by the Chancellor here.
Join the conversation on social media and tell us why residents should #ShopLocal. The Shop Local campaign is about celebrating the British high street and encouraging customers to come back to their safe local shops, supporting the local economy and local jobs.
The Shop Local campaign launched on 10 August 2020 and will run for one week. It is part of the Government’s #EnjoySummerSafely umbrella campaign, which is running all summer.
No one is better placed than local small businesses to explain what’s special about shopping locally. What can your business offer to customers that they cannot get elsewhere? What makes the customer experience in your store unique and different to what they get online? You know your customers best. Help us spark a conversation about the benefits in your high street or town.
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Use your social media accounts to join the conversation, telling us why your community should shop local, using #ShopLocal, to help encourage customers back to the shops. The more personalised to your community, the better.
- Post photos, gifs, videos, Boomerangs [on Instagram] that illustrate your key messages. For example, a photo with your staff; an Instagram Story showing off some local produce; or maybe a short video showing how you have made your shop safe. Don’t forget to tag @BEISgovuk and Malvern Hills District Council’s social media accounts @Malvernhills_dc so we can repost.
Inspiring Worcestershire have launched a new service to respond to the Covid 19 outbreak and closures of education settings and to support the young people of Worcestershire with -
- information on next steps in sixth form and sixth form colleges in Worcestershire
- information on Apprenticeships and support with applications
- information on finding and accessing full time courses at colleges
- information about University choices and the process for year 13s
- support to access English and maths support
The service will Support Worcestershire’s young people aged 16 - 24 to understand their next steps considering the Coronavirus Covid 19. Helping them to make informed careers decisions about education next steps for September, including current year 11 and year 13 students. Click here for more information
Public Health England has produced a series of workplace action cards to provide instructions to businesses and organisations in England on what to do in the event of one or more confirmed cases of coronavirus in their organisation.
They are designed for quick reference, describing the steps to take to quickly identify, report and respond to any potential COVID-19 situations.
They've been developed to cover a range of businesses and organisations, including:
- Arts, heritage, and cultural venues
- Cinemas, theatres, comedy venues and music venues
- Construction and outdoor work
- Dress fitters, tailors, and fashion designers
- Hairdressing, barbershops, beauty and nail bars, makeup, and tattoo and spray tanning studios
- Manufacturing of food and other large processing plants
- Restaurants, pubs, bars, cafes, or takeaways
- Shops and branches
- Spas, sports and massage therapy, wellbeing, and holistic centres
The workplace action cards can be downloaded from the Public Health England website.
Businesses will receive a one-off payment of £1,000 for every previously furloughed employee if they are still employed at the end of January 2021.
A policy statement published by the HMRC today gives employers further details on eligibility requirements and how they can claim the bonus:
- Employers will receive a one-off payment of £1,000 for every employee who has previously been furloughed under Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) – if they remain continuously employed to the end of January 2021.
- To ensure the jobs are meaningful and well-paid, employees must earn at least £520 (the National Insurance lower earnings limit) a month on average between the beginning of November and the end of January.
- Those who were furloughed and had a claim submitted for them after 10 June (when the CJRS closed to new entrants), because they were returning from paternal leave or time serving as a military reservist, will also be eligible for the bonus as long as they meet the other eligibility criteria.
- Employers will also be eligible for employee transfers protected under TUPE legislation, provided they have been continuously employed and meet the other eligibility criteria and the new employer has also submitted a CJRS claim for that employee.
Up to £10,000 to help recruit a Graduate
Could your business benefit from new talent with fresh ideas and up-to-date skills?
In such uncertain times, many businesses have delayed investing in new staff who could help drive their business forward. In turn, this has left Worcestershire graduates facing considerable challenges in finding rewarding opportunities to kick start their careers. The Here2Help Business programme, run by Worcestershire County Council, aims to support eligible SMEs to recruit a local Graduate into a professional role by providing a graduate grant.
The Graduate Development Grant offers businesses access to the skills they need, whilst also providing graduates with high quality career opportunities. The grant provides up to 50% of a Graduate salary for a one-year period, to a maximum of £10,000, which is paid retrospectively on a quarterly basis on production of timesheets and evidence of salary defrayal.
To retain young talent for the benefit for our local economy, the graduate will need to have fully graduated in 2018, 2019 or 2020 and be a Worcestershire resident or a graduate from the University of Worcester. The post should be a new position offering graduate level experience with training and the opportunity for further development.
If you would like more information about the Here2Help Business Graduate Development Grant visit our website here or call Wendy Garrad, Programme Manager on 01905 844595.
This money is in addition to a grant of up to £1000 MHDC will give to businesses taking on an intern or a new graduate. Applications for the mhdc grant to be submitted on line to https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/46NGD5/
Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, have released the results of the latest quarterly economic report, outlining key economic indicators for Quarter 2 (Q2) 2020.The report looks at the impact of COVID-19 on business, with a focus on the changes that will take place in employment and recruitment.
For more information on the Q2 report, visit the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce website on the link here.
In July, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) published the findings of its latest, quarterly Small Business Index (SBI). The SBI is based upon a survey of 1,500 business owners and this latest edition shows that:
- a fifth of small firms expect performance to be “much worse” over the next three months.
- in contrast one in ten expect performance to stabilise or improve.
- hiring activity, profits and exports hit all-time lows over the last quarter; and
- finance applications have soared - along with approval rates - following Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) success.
More detail available from their media release here.
The “Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) Transforming Foundation Industries (TFI): Building a Resilient Recovery” funding competition is now open and closes on Wednesday 4th November 2020, whereby UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £8 million for projects supporting recovery and growth of the UK’s foundation industries. The aim of this competition is to support an innovation-led recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.
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KTN hosted a briefing webinar on 17th July - the recording can be watched back here.
Read more here
The Government confirmed £10 million of funding to boost tourism and a further £20 million to boost business recovery in England. The Kickstart Grant Scheme will give small businesses grants of up to £3,000 to help them adapt their businesses following the pandemic. Further details are due out shortly.
To register your interest in the Kickstart Grant Scheme, please Contact Worcestershire Business Central here
Businesses across Worcestershire now have the opportunity to pledge their support to community projects in a new and easy way though Crowdfund Worcestershire.
As part of this, The People Make Places fund and Crowdfund WYCHAVON has recently been launched by Malvern Hills and Wychavon District Councils to support the community through projects and services provided by local community groups and Voluntary Community Sector organisations. The first funding round, which is currently underway, is dedicated to projects supporting COVID-19 recovery.
Delivered via civil crowdfunding platform, Spacehive, this is an opportunity for businesses across the district/county to offer support to community-led project ideas alongside the council and its partners. To date Spacehive has helped 26 projects across Worcestershire from 423 backers, raising over £80,000 so far.
The fund supports up to 50% of the overall target with the remaining 50% being funded by businesses, the community, and other funders. Anyone can help a project towards its target, with pledges starting as little as £2, the platform enables local people to get behind campaigns they want to make happen in their area.
Projects currently live on Spacehive include foodbanks, VCS organisations tackling social isolation, Good Neighbour Schemes, and supporting people experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse. To see the full list of current and previous projects, please click here.
The next funding round will begin at the end of September, where there will be a focus on supporting community transport providers and projects.
Businesses and other organisations are encouraged to pledge on an ad-hoc basis, but those looking to make a pledge contribution to multiple projects can be given their own supporter profile on this site to showcase their support. The fund is part of a wider programme of crowdfunding activity across Worcestershire, in conjunction with Worcestershire County Council.
Nationally, Spacehive has supported 1000 projects to raise over £16mil. Currently, they are working with 35 authorities and have over £4mil of additional funding available for projects from their partner funder network. For more information about Spacehive, please visit: https://www.spacehive.com/ or email communityservices@malvernhills.gov.uk.
The Worcestershire LEP, working with Skills Support for the Workforce, is seeking the views of employers in Worcestershire. We appreciate that this is a difficult time for many organisations. We are keen to understand what funded training provision might benefit your organisation in better times and what needs may have arisen through the impacts of recent events.
We are keen to hear from employers of all sizes (including sole traders) and from all sectors. Please share your views by completing a short survey (10-15 minutes) available at this link before the deadline of 7th August 2020.
For each completed survey, you will have an opportunity to enter a prize draw to win a £100 experience day gift voucher that you can spend on venues in the region / a family day out. For further information about the prize draw, please contact johnf@winningmoves.com.
This is a real opportunity for Employers to influence the future skills development and available support in the region
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.
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
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