The Greater Lincolnshire LEP are calling on students to support national food security through local food supply chains to work on British farms due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The British summer harvest is about to begin and they need to enlist this group to help bring in the harvest and to help keep the nation fed. The UK is rapidly approaching the peak harvest season and 80,000 seasonal workers are needed to help bring in the harvest from the end of May and across the summer, to bring in the UK harvest on British farms.

A LEP call is therefore going out for a Student Land Army, this is targeted at 6^th formers, further education colleges, and Universities and higher education facilities across Lincolnshire for students on a break from education to join the national push. For more information please see here.

Since the government announced its commitment to further support businesses through the Small Business Grant and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant North Kesteven District Council have been busy contacting, receiving, checking and validating applications. To date, NKDC has paid out a total of £18,340,000 to 1,636 businesses across the district. 

There are still a significant number of businesses that have not applied for the grant funding. To be eligible for grant funding you must be a registered ratepayer on 11/03/20 or able to prove that you were the correct ratepayer on this date and evidence the fact that the list of ratepayers on 11/03/20 is factually incorrect.

To be eligible for Small Business Grant Funding you must be in receipt of or eligible for Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief (for properties with a Rateable Value of between £2500 and £15,000).To be eligible for the Retail Hospitality Leisure Grant you must be in Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sector and receipt of or eligible for the expanded retail discount relief (for properties with a rateable value of between £15001 and £50,999). Retail discount can only be applied to hereditaments that are being used for the sale of goods to visiting members of the public. Properties with a rateable value of more than £51,000 are not eligible. If you think you are eligible please apply here.

The portal inviting applications for the Covid-19 business grants for small businesses and those in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sector will be temporarily closing on May 13th whilst we await further guidance from government. So, if you are an eligible business, and do still wish to make a claim, please do so by this date.

Check if you can claim a grant through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme

If you are self-employed or a member of a partnership and have been adversely affected by coronavirus find out if you can use the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme to claim a grant. The scheme will allow you to claim a taxable grant of 80% of your average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months, and capped at £7,500 altogether. This is a temporary scheme, but it may be extended.

The grant will be subject to Income Tax and self-employed National Insurance. HMRC will work out if you’re eligible and how much grant you may get. For more information please see here.

There has been an increase in scam emails, calls and texts. Eligible customers will be invited to claim through the GOV.UK - it is the only service they can use. If someone gets in touch with clients claiming to be from HRMC, saying that financial help can be claimed or that a tax refund is owed, and asks them to click on a link or to give information such as their name, credit card or bank details, they should not respond. It is a scam. Suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC should be reported by sending them to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk. Texts should be sent to 60599.

Free support for North Kesteven Businesses

NKDC offers the service of a Business Support Adviser, Phil Means. Phil can assist businesses and provide bespoke advice and support.

If you are in business and feel you could benefit from free business advice please contact Phil Means. Either call Phil on 07920 472671 or email phil_means@n-kesteven.gov.uk

Updates to Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme guidance (CJRS)

Changes have been made to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the changes focus on employee guidance regarding furloughed employees who are union or non-union members and those receiving maternity allowance, employer guidance regarding eligibility and guidance on how to calculate the grant.

C-19 Emergency Trading Income Support Scheme

The C-19 Emergency Trading Income Support Scheme is part of Power to Change’s £12 million emergency support package to provide both immediate and medium-term help for community businesses facing a loss of trading income through COVID-19.

The C-19 Emergency Trading Income Support Scheme provides emergency finance in the form of small grants to community businesses in England, as a contribution towards trading income lost as a result of COVID-19.

The scheme will open for applications in two rounds in May across two weeks. For more information please see here.

Top-up to local business grant fund schemes

A discretionary fund has been set up by the Government to accomodate certain small businesses previously outside the scope of the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF) and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund (RHLGF). North Kesteven District Council is currently awaiting guidance from government as to how this additional funding will be allocated, this is expected in the near future. Our website and social media accounts will be updated accordingly. No action is required from business at this time.

Government Support

All the latest support on offer from the Government to businesses can be found here.

Updated guidance on social distancing in the workplace can be found here.

Applying for grant funding?

In some cases we have received multiple applications for a single business.

Please only submit one application for grant funding, unless you operate more than one premises.

Businesses diversifying during Covid-19 pandemic

During the pandemic, businesses are diversifying and adapting services to suit current requirements. R H Displays & Exhibitions have adapted their offer and are currently providing clients with office and retail Covid-19 protection such as desk screens, moveable full height protection screens, reception/sales desk protection screens and sanitising stations.

Is your business working on anything Covid-19 related, we would love to hear about it tweet us @BusinessNK if your business has diversified in recent weeks.

Small businesses boosted by bounce back loans

Following the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s announcement on 27 April, The Bounce Back Loan Scheme opened for applications on Monday 4 May.

Delivered by lenders accredited by the British Business Bank for this scheme, Bounce Back Loans target small and micro businesses in all sectors, providing loans from £2k up to 25% of the business’ turnover with a maximum loan of £50,000.

Providing lenders with a 100% government-backed guarantee and standardising the application form is expected to lead to a faster process with many loans becoming available within days. For more information and to apply for a Bounce Back Loan please see here.

Has your business benefited from Government business support?

East Midlands Cabinet office is looking for case studies of businesses who have successfully used the Government business support and are asking businesses to provide short videos about their experience. Case studies will be shared on government social media channels, and also on the business support sections of GOV.UK