 Over the past 18 months around 2500 residents, businesses, organisations and voluntary groups have worked together to answer the question, what kind of city do we want Portsmouth to be in 2040? Their ideas and ambitions have been brought together by Imagine Portsmouth and unveiled in a new city vision. The vision sets out the values that will shape Portsmouth's future and the big, bold plans people have for our city. Business and organisations are being invited to helped make the vision a reality by using it to shape their own plans for the future.
 The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the region's lead for economic development, has submitted a Freeport proposal to government on behalf of a coalition of businesses, local authorities and other partner organisations including Portsmouth International Port.
The bid is in response to a competitive process designed to establish at least ten UK Freeports.
According to the LEP, the Solent Freeport would attract £2billion investment and create 52,000 jobs. High quality employment space would be created, with investment specifically targeted at state-of-the-art growth sectors and ground-breaking approaches to decarbonisation. There would be a particular emphasis on green skills and jobs to ensure local communities - and in particular our young people - can benefit from opportunities created.
A deadline for bids was set for Friday, February 5, with the government expected to announce which areas have been successful later this year.
 Under lockdown regulations everyone who can work from home should work from home. It's important that employers take every possible step to enable staff to work from home, such as providing suitable IT to support remote working. If employees truly cannot do their job from home, employers need to make sure the workplace is COVID-19 secure - whether it's an office, building site or essential shop.
It's also crucial that employers support staff who need to self-isolate because they, or someone in their household or bubble, have coronavirus symptoms, a positive coronavirus test, or have been told to self-isolate by NHS Test & Trace or Covid-19 app. Self-isolating is really important to stop others from getting ill. If you don't self-isolate when you should, you could be fined.
You can find COVID-19 secure guidelines for different sectors on the government website and via the Health & Safety Executive. You can also get information, advice and access to grants through our business support team.
 If you employ more than 50 people and your employees can't work from home you can apply for rapid lateral flow tests for your employees.
You can register to order tests if:
- your business is registered in England
- you employ 50 people or more
- your employees cannot work from home
 The HMRC is offering a range of webinars over the next week for businesses moving goods in and out of the EU.
Exporting: what you need to do to keep your goods moving: An overview of the actions you need to take now before you export goods from Great Britain to the EU and move goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Key processes include – zero-rated VAT, customs declarations, using an intermediary as well as licences, certificates, and authorisations.
Please register to take part if you’re planning to export.
Trader responsibilities when using an intermediary: This webinar explains your responsibilities as a trader, if you choose to use an intermediary to complete import or export declarations for your business. These are complex and an intermediary can save you a lot of time.
Please register to take part if you’re planning to import or export.
Customs Import Declarations: An overview: If your business or a business you represent, needs to make customs import declarations on controlled goods and on non-controlled goods by the end of June 2021, our webinar helps you to understand what’s needed for simplified declarations, supplementary declarations, and delayed import declarations.
Please register to take part if you’re planning to import.
Importing: What you need to know about Staged Controls: This webinar takes you through the three stages of the new border controls introduced on 1 January 2021, and what actions you need to take for each stage.
Please register to take part if you’re planning to import.
 Businesses in the UK that have accepted Bounce Back Loans to help them recover from the coronavirus downturn now have greater flexibility around repayments.
Bounce Back Loans allow small and medium businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 and access the cash within days. Firms can procure these loans through a network of accredited lenders.
The Treasury's new Pay as You Grow repayment flexibilities will now enable borrowers to tailor their repayment schedule, with the option to:
- Extend the length of their loans from six to ten years (reducing monthly repayments by almost half).
- Make interest-only payments for six months.
- Pause repayments for up to six months, with the option to use this up to three times throughout the loan.
The Chancellor has extended the flexibility of the third option, which will now be available to all from their first repayment, rather than after six repayments have been made. This will mean that businesses can choose to make no payments on their loans until 18 months after they originally took them out.
These Pay as You Grow options will be available to more than 1.4 million businesses that took out a total of nearly £45 billion through the scheme.
Lenders will now be proactively and directly informing their customers of Pay as You Grow, and borrowers should only expect correspondence three months before their first repayments are due. Under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, no repayments or interest are due from the borrower during the first 12 months of the loan term.
The scheme is open to applications until 31 March 2021.
If you are looking to take on trainees you can now apply for a £1000 cash boost to help you with extra costs.
The new scheme will support young people to gain the skills and experience they need from the very start, helping them to get a job, an apprenticeship, or pursue further study. The cash boost – which is available until 31 July 2021 - will help businesses with the cost of providing a high-quality work placement for a trainee. This includes providing facilities, uniforms or helping with travel costs. Businesses offering new traineeship opportunities will receive the £1,000 bonus for every trainee they take on with up to a maximum of 10 trainees. Employers can claim the cash incentive for all work placements that have been completed since 1 September.
 If you deferred VAT payments due between 20 March and 30 June 2020 and still have payments to make, you can:
- pay the deferred VAT in full, on or before 31 March 2021
- join the VAT deferral new payment scheme – the online service is open between 23 February and 21 June 2021
- contact HMRC on Telephone: 0800 024 1222 by 30 June if you need extra help to pay
The VAT deferral new payment scheme will be open from 23 February up to and including 21 June 2021.
If you’re on the VAT Annual Accounting Scheme or the VAT Payment on Account Scheme, you’ll be invited to join the new payment scheme later in March 2021.
The new scheme lets you:
- pay your deferred VAT in equal instalments, interest free
- choose the number of instalments, from 2 to 11 (depending on when you join)
The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), in partnership with Newable and supported by The Department for International Trade, are holding some events on Tuesday 16 February to help you adjust to the new landscape, minimise disruption to your business and take advantage of new opportunities post Brexit.
Keep Your Maritime Business Moving – What Solent SMEs need to know about the EU exit:
https://events.newable.co.uk/events/608/keep-your-maritime-business-moving-what-solent-smes-need-to-know-about-the-eu-exit
Keep Your Advanced Engineering Business Moving – What Solent SMEs need to know about the EU exit:
https://events.newable.co.uk/events/609/keep-your-advanced-engineering-business-moving-what-solent-smes-need-to-know-about-the-eu-exit
 Southern Water is consulting on plans to help keep rivers and taps flowing during a drought.
The company’s Water for Life – Hampshire programme will revolutionise the way it sources, treats and supplies water across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight over the next decade.
The company is seeking planning consent for its central plan – a desalination plant in the Fawley area which will produce up to 75 million litres of water per day.
The consultation also outlines the alternatives the company is exploring as a back-up in case desalination proves undeliverable – ensuring customers’ supplies are maintained.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is adopting a “digital first” consultation and has launched a virtual room online where people can interact with films, animations, information boards and a brochure detailing the programme and the opportunities to help shape the plans.
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