COVID-19  Guidance for businesses

Small Business Grant [2] - In order to be entitled to a payment under this scheme you will need to confirm that your Business premises was occupied on 11th March 2020 and was eligible for relief under the Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) Scheme with a rateable value up to and including £15,000. The Small Business Rate scheme will close on the 28 August 2020. If you are a business that is eligible for a grant under either of these schemes please ensure you complete the appropriate Webform by 28 August. No payments will be made after that date. 

•             To receive the grant, please complete the small business online application form [3]. 

Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Grant [4]- In order to be entitled to a payment under this scheme you will need to confirm that your Business premises was occupied on 11th March 2020 and was eligible for relief under the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme with a rateable value of less than £51,000. The Retail Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme will close on the 28 August 2020. If you are a business that is eligible for a grant under either of these schemes please ensure you complete the appropriate Webform by 28 August. No payments will be made after that date. 

• To receive the grant, please complete the retail, hospitality and leisure online application form [5].

ERDF Kickstarting Tourism and SME support funds [6] - Funding being provided to businesses will be supported by the England European Regional Development Fund. Information on the criteria and how to apply for the fund will be available on the EM3 [7] and Growth Hub's [8] websites, as soon as the scheme is open for applications, which is expected to be before the autumn. More information on can be found the GOV.UK website [6]. 

Business Rates Holiday for Nurseries: [9] Nurseries in England do not have to pay business rates for the 2020-2021 tax year. [9] 

Bounce Back Loan: [10] The scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover. The maximum loan available is £50,000. The government guarantees 100% of the loan and there won’t be any fees or interest to pay for the first 12 months. After 12 months the interest rate will be 2.5% a year. 

Self-employment Income Support Scheme: [11] Self-employed individuals or members of partnerships whose business has been adversely affected by coronavirus will be able to apply for a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profits. 

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme: [12] This scheme will help businesses affected by coronavirus to access bank lending and overdrafts if they need to. For loans up to £5 million, the Government is providing a guarantee of 80% for each loan. 

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme [13]: Under the coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers with a PAYE scheme will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees' salary for those that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis. 

Statutory Sick Pay Rebate:  [14]The Government will bring forward legislation to allow small and medium-sized businesses to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid for staff sickness absence due to coronavirus. 

Support for Businesses Paying Tax: [15] All businesses and self employed people in financial distress, and with outstanding tax liabilities, may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC's Time to Pay service.

VAT Deferral: [16] We will support businesses by deferring Valued Added Tax (VAT) payments for 3 months.

Income Tax Deferral for the Self-Employed: [17] If you are self-employed, Income Tax payments due in July 2020 under the Self-Assessment system will be deferred to January 2021. 

Support for Businesses Paying Tax:  [17]All businesses and self- employed people in financial distress, and with outstanding tax liabilities, may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC's Time To Pay service. 

COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility:  [18]The new COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) means that the Bank of England will buy short-term debt from larger companies. 

Deferral of Self-Assessment payment:  [19]The Self-Assessment payment on account, this is ordinarily due to be paid to HMRC by 31 July 2020 may now be deferred until January 2021.

Frequently asked questions- Here you can find a full list of FAQs [20] provided by GOV.UK.

Arts Council England - £160 million of emergency funding available [21] for those organisations and individuals. 

There are a number of organisations who provide help and information about different grants or funding schemes that are out there to help your business, as well as providing other general advice for businesses. 

GOV.UK

The GOV.UK website [22] provides a range of information on grants, finance and loans, and business support such as mentoring, consultancy and funding for small and medium-sized businesses and start-ups.

British Business Bank

The British Business Bank [23] is 100% Government owned, but independently managed, and brings expertise and Government money to the smaller business finance markets. They do not lend or invest directly. Instead, they work with over 80 partners such as banks, leasing companies and web-based platforms to make finance markets work better for small businesses in the UK.

Enterprise South

Enterprise South [24] provide businesses help with writing a business plan, securing funding and scaling, as well as general advice. The services they offer include:

• A business toolkit which offers a host of documents that are free for you to use.
• Help to apply for funding by working with Virgin Start Up Loans.
• Providing pre and post start support to businesses that have plans for growth, as a delivery partner for the Start and Grow programme.
• Free advice and mentoring sessions in Hampshire.
• Help to find a new office or workspace in your local area.

Businesses located in Hart can take advantage of the Hart Business Support Service [25] funded by Hart District Council.

Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator

The Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership [26] has announced a new £5.5 million funding scheme [27], aimed at businesses in the early stages who have the potential of high growth and are likely to provide jobs in the area. They aim to drive the economic growth of the area by working with businesses, key delivery partners and central government.

J4B Grants

J4B Grants [28] provide information on all the latest European grants, UK Government grants and other sources of funding to help start and grow your business.

Bright Ideas Fund

Bright Ideas Fund [29] supports new community business ideas through the start up and planning stages with tailored business support, to the implementation stage with grants of up to £15,000.

Start Up Loans

A Start Up Loan [30] is a government-backed personal loan available to individuals looking to start or grow a business in the UK. In addition to finance, successful applicants receive 12 months of free mentoring and exclusive business offers to help them succeed.

Startups

Startups [31] is the UK’s leading independent, online resource for anyone starting or growing a business.

Fredericks Foundation

Fredericks Foundation [32] is open to anyone who has a viable business proposition but cannot obtain mainstream finance. Start-ups can attain a maximum of £15,000. For established businesses with a financial track record of at least three years, the maximum loan is £35,000.

GRANTfinder

GRANTfinder [33] is Europe’s leading provider of grants and policy information and has been providing support to UK organisations since 1985. It is a user-friendly, accurate, and professional funding tool, which has helped its users to facilitate the securing of millions of pounds’ worth of support.

Grants Online

With nearly 5,000 funding schemes available within the UK, there's a lot of information to keep on top of. Grants Online [34] is trusted by hundreds of organisations to keep them up to date with the latest funding opportunities. By providing up to date grant funding information, alerts and newsletters, they help businesses maximise funding potential.

Tech Round 

TechRound [35] is an online news site covering news and developments in UK start-ups, entrepreneurs, tech businesses as well as digital government policies and developments across politics affecting the digital and tech industries in the UK and beyond. With regular articles, insights, interviews and how-to-guides. Tech Round are always open to collaborations and news releases from other writers and journalists as well as media comments and appearances.