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 for the latest Covid business advice. If you are not receiving this newsletter directly, please sign up to our regular email newsletter for the latest updates on business support.
The Prime Minister announced on Monday a national lockdown in England. In summary:
- England is now in a national lockdown, the Government is instructing people to stay at home and this is backed up with legislation
- People are permitted to leave home for limited reasons, including shopping for essentials, work if you cannot work from home, exercise, or to seek medical assistance.
- Shielding is in place again, those at risk will receive a letter.
- Primary schools, secondary schools, and colleges have moved to online learning – except for vulnerable children and children of key workers. Nurseries will continue to be open.
- All non-essential retail, hospitality and personal care services must close, or remain closed. Restaurants can continue delivery, takeaway or click-and-collect of food and non-alcoholic drinks, but venues will no longer be able to serve takeaway or click-and-collect alcohol.
- Essential shops and garden centres can remain open. Entertainment venues and animal attractions such as zoos must close, but the outdoor areas of venues such as heritage homes and botanical gardens can remain open, to be used for exercise. Playgrounds may also remain open.
The new rules became law from 00.01 on Wednesday 6 January. The restrictions are expected to last until the middle of February if the situation in hospitals improves. The following guidance has been published on GOV.UK
View the stay at home guidance for England.
To reduce social contact, the regulations require some businesses to close and impose restrictions on how some businesses provide goods and services. The full list of businesses required to close is available here, but includes:
- Non-essential retail, such as clothing and homeware stores, vehicle showrooms (other than for rental), betting shops, tailors, tobacco and vape shops, electronic goods and mobile phone shops, auction houses (except for auctions of livestock or agricultural equipment) and market stalls selling non-essential goods. These venues can continue to be able to operate click-and-collect (where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises) and delivery services.
- Hospitality venues such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs; with the exception of providing food and non-alcoholic drinks for takeaway (until 11pm), click-and-collect and drive-through. All food and drink (including alcohol) can continue to be provided by delivery.
- Accommodation such as hotels, hostels, guest houses and campsites, except for specific circumstances, such as where these act as someone’s main residence, where the person cannot return home, for providing accommodation or support to the homeless, or where it is essential to stay there for work purposes.
- Leisure and sports facilities such as leisure centres and gyms, swimming pools, sports courts, fitness and dance studios, riding arenas at riding centres, climbing walls, and golf courses.
- Entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, amusement arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, go-karting venues, indoor play and soft play centres and areas (including inflatable parks and trampolining centres), circuses, fairgrounds, funfairs, water parks and theme parks.
- Animal attractions (such as zoos, safari parks, aquariums, and wildlife reserves)
- Indoor attractions at venues such as botanical gardens, heritage homes and landmarks must also close, though outdoor grounds of these premises can stay open for outdoor exercise.
- Personal care facilities such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons. Tattoo parlours, spas, massage parlours, body and skin piercing services must also close. These services should not be provided in other people’s homes.
- Community centres and halls must close except for a limited number of exempt activities, as set out below. Libraries can also remain open to provide access to IT and digital services– for example for people who do not have it at home – and for click-and-collect services.
The Chancellor has announced additional grants for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. The one-off Closed Business Lockdown Payment top-up grants will be provided on a per property basis to businesses closed as a result of the latest restrictions as follows:
- £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
- £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
- £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000
We are awaiting the detailed guidance from government on issuing these grants but it is hoped that this will be received early next week. The MHDC website here will be updated as soon as possible
The new one-off grants are in addition to the existing business support grants depending on rateable values worth up to £3,000 per month for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses able to open.
The Local Restrictions Grant funding scheme is still available to support businesses affected by tier 2 and 3 local coronavirus restrictions introduced in Malvern Hills District from 2 December 2020 and will continue now whilst we are in national lockdown.
Funding schemes available to support businesses affected by national coronavirus restrictions that were in place from 5 November to 2 December are still available to apply for.
Please visit our website here for the latest on the grant schemes available and to apply.
The Local Restrictions Support Grants and the new Closed Business Lockdown Payments are only available to business required to close or significantly impacted that are liable for business rates.
We are making funds available to support businesses that do not qualify for the main support funding schemes, that require a business rates account, but were still severely affected by the national coronavirus restrictions in place from 5 November to midnight on 2 December 2020 and Tier 2 and 3 restrictions in place from 2 December 2020 to 4 January 2021.
Businesses that qualify for an Additional Restrictions Grant could receive up to £3,000 per month. To help us support as many businesses as possible, the amount of grant awarded will be proportionate to the impact of coronavirus restrictions on the income of a particular business.
The following types of businesses may qualify for an Additional Restrictions Grant:
- Businesses with a rateable value involved in the supply chain to businesses within the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors that have been forced to close by government.
- Businesses without a rateable value involved in the supply chain to businesses within the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors that have been forced to close by government.
- Businesses without a rateable value within the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors that have been forced to close by government.
Applications will be prioritised on the following criteria:
- The importance of the business to the economy as an employer. This will include those who are self-employed.
- Whether the business has been forced to close, or can demonstrate a significant reduction in revenue, due to national coronavirus restrictions on trade from 4 November.
Evidence this criteria has been met will need to be provided.
Apply for an Additional Restrictions Grant here. The deadline for applications has been extended. If you have already applied please we are processing awards now with payments due out this week.
We anticipate offering further support through the ARG scheme for the National Lockdown period starting 5th January and details on the criteria will be announced shortly. Please check our website for updates.
The local Chamber of Commerce has launched a brand-new EU Exit Business Support Hub in partnership with Worcestershire County Council in order to help local firms now the UK has left the EU
The extensive hub offers a range of tools businesses can use to ensure they have planned successfully for any changes.
Businesses can access:
- EU-Exit Advisory – a helpline to discuss concerns, and receive guidance and support from International Trade specialists
- Bespoke Consultancy – for businesses that have specific needs and require tailored support
- Customs Declaration Service – for UK importers and exporters of all sizes from across the UK
- Business Preparation Resources – a host of resources and guidance in order for businesses to prepare
Local companies can also take advantage of a range of fully funded EU-Exit related training courses, delivered on behalf of Worcestershire County Council.
To access the hub to find out more information, and to find out more about our EU-Exit related training, please visit www.hwchamber.co.uk/eu-exit-hub
We are currently updating our lists to promote businesses providing takeaway, delivery of goods and click and collect service. If your business has not already been listed and you would like to be included, please email the details to: info@visitthemalverns.org
If you own an independent retail business in Worcestershire, you’re invited to be a part of the Love Where You Live community – an online marketplace encouraging and enabling people to shop locally, sustainably and conveniently.
We LOVE where we live and we know you do too. Together, we can make a positive change - supporting our local economy, creating jobs, helping the environment and having some fun along the way!
You can find out more about joining and apply to sell at: www.lovewhere.co.uk
A major support package for more than 200,000 small businesses to access free online training, expert advice and intensive bootcamps to get selling on Amazon. Sign-up with Enterprise Nation to access:
- free e-learning for 200,000 new and existing businesses
- intensive bootcamps to help offline businesses to start selling online quickly.
- 12 months’ free membership to Enterprise Nation
- a bundle of business offers worth over £2,000
- To sign up for the free initiative click here
Applications for the third round of grants through the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) are now open. For eligible applicants, the grant will provide a maximum of £7,500 to cover up to 80% of your average trading profits. Claims for the third grant must be made on or before 29 January 2021. Find out more here
The incentive scheme outlined by the government in August was due to end 31st January 2021. However, following the Chancellor’s Spending Review, this date has now been extended by two months, ending on 31st March 2021
HMRC will pay you £1500 for each apprentice taken on under 24 years old and £2000 if over 24., in addition to the £1500 provided to key apprenticeships by Malvern Hills District Council and grants from Worcestershire County Council.
Although the scheme has been extended, if you are keen to recruit new staff for early in the new year, Worcestershire Apprenticeships can help you get the ball rolling this side of Christmas. In previous years we have noticed an increase in candidates browsing vacancies at this time of year, in order to start something in the new year so let us help you this December. If you are interested in an apprentice there is also funding support available from MHDC click here
The Worcestershire County Council & Worcestershire LEP Gateway, for the Kickstart Scheme, have submitted their first three rounds of employers to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to have their due diligence checks completed. There are over 65 companies offering over 200 placements in the first three batches and this number is continuing to rise.
Organisations across the county are still encouraged to register their interest in the Kickstart scheme. For businesses looking to take on less than 30 placements, the County Council and LEP can help by acting as a intermediary for businesses to apply. For more information and details on how to register your interest in a kickstart placement click here
Lottery Grants for cultural and heritage organisations in England to make the transition from lockdowns and social distancing to resume business activity and welcome visitors back to the country’s diverse heritage sites starting in April 2021.
The second round of funding looks forward to spring and early summer 2021 when it is expected that heritage organisations will be able to operate with fewer restrictions. It will support organisations to transition from the challenging months of lockdowns and social distancing to resume business activity and welcome visitors back to the country’s diverse heritage sites.
The funding can be used to support the costs of making the transition towards full reopening. This funding will support organisations to build up their operations and begin a programme of heritage activity in April-June 2021. The funding aims to ensure that by the end of June 2021, organisations will be operating on a viable and sustainable basis.
For further details on the scheme plus details of online webinars click here
The RSN have recently published their monthly bulletin highlighting a selection of current funding opportunities. The digest includes many sources of grant funding that businesses, projects and organisations may not already be aware of. You can view the digest via the RSN website here
The new Enterprising Worcestershire scheme has opened for applications. Grants of £1,000 - £15,000 are available for SME businesses which have been trading less than 36 months. The grants must be match funded and are only available to businesses which trade at least 70% business to business. Click here for more information on the Enterprising Worcestershire programme.
Peer Networks is a national peer-to-peer networking programme for SME leaders that want to grow and develop their organisation for future success.
The government is setting up Peer Networks that will create diverse cohort groups of individuals to collaboratively work through common business issues. Through interactive action learning, we will enable you to discuss your own challenges, gain and reflect on valuable feedback and implement practical solutions to overcome them.
The support is FREE 18 hours of facilitated learning and FREE 3.5 hours one-to-one time with the facilitator (and or other third party that can assist a companies particular challenge). The activity will need to be completed by March 2021
Click here for more information.
A new ‘Park That Bike’ scheme for Worcestershire businesses has been launched via www.parkthatbike.info providing free cycle racks.
The Park That Bike initiative provides a mechanism for local businesses to apply for funding to install cycle parking on their premises, to encourage utility cycling. Visit the website to see what is available to businesses in Worcestershire. As the current funding available within the scheme is limited, the intention is that WCC through its Active Travel funding will continue to work with partners to top up available funding over time so that all are able to benefit from this service.
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. More details are available here.
BlockMark Technologies, a blockchain start-up headquartered at the Wyche Innovation Centre in Malvern, has launched a digital certificate capability to show COVID-19 test results and vaccination records. This outcome has been achieved by modifying its BlockMark Registry platform through a product development project supported by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.
BlockMark Technologies is now working with travel and tourism industry players who are seeking a convenient and trustworthy certification scheme to bring confidence back into travelling and enjoying hospitality.
Mr Tom Alcott, CEO of BlockMark Technologies states “We are really pleased that we have now been awarded a further tranche of Innovate UK grant funding to accelerate bringing our scalable solution to market. We are well aware of the contentious issues that surround health certifications, both in terms of privacy and personal freedoms. Hence, we have focused on bringing a well-established paper based approach into the 21st Century and made it fit for today’s purpose in a pandemic era.”
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
|