Business Support

The following guidance is reproduced from the businesswales.gov website

The Welsh Government has announced a package of support worth £1.4bn for small businesses to help them during the coronavirus outbreak.

Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 or less will receive 100% business rates. 

Expanding on this support a new package providing in 2020/21, retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in Wales with one year business rates relief and a grant of £25,000 for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £51,000.

It also provides a £10,000 grant to all businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief with a rateable value of £12,000 or less.

Businesses that qualify for this support will not need to do anything to apply for this scheme. This will be administered through the Business Rates system. You do not need to contact your Local Authority about this, you will receive information in due course.

The links below will take you to further information on specific subject areas:

• Development Bank of Wales – Information of services available via the Development Bank of Wales
• Government Support – Information on support provided via the Welsh Government, including Business Rate Relief and Business Grant Schemes
• BEIS guidance to employers and businesses about COVID-19 – Link to information and guidance from the UK Government on areas such as Statutory Sick Pay, Advice for employees which have travelled to high risk areas and home working

To delay the spread of coronavirus, the government has instructed some businesses and venues including all pubs, bars and restaurants to close. Further information on which businesses need to close can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-further-measures-on-social-distancing
 

The following guidance is reproduced from the GOV.UK website

General guidance for employers

The UK Government has published extensive guidance for employers, including details on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and what to do if someone is suspected or confirmed to have the virus.
UK Government support for businesses

The UK Government has set out a package of measures to protect public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19. Businesses in Northern Ireland can access the following schemes and announcements:

• Businesses will receive government grants worth up to 80% of wages to keep workers in jobs. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will pay up to £2,500 per worker each month, helping those who are self-isolating or caring for loved ones. This scheme will be open from Monday 23 March.
• Support for businesses through the Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which will provide loans of up to £5m, with no interest due for 12 months. This scheme will be open from Monday 23 March and will be delivered through the British Business Bank.
• Support for businesses who are paying sick pay to employees
• Support for businesses paying tax
• VAT payments for the next quarter will be deferred, so no business will pay any VAT for the next three months.

Northern Ireland Executive support for businesses

Invest NI have provided practical advice for business online here

Businesses in Northern Ireland can access the following schemes:

• COVID Small Business Grant – Small business grant of £10,000 to be issued immediately with a cost of £267m providing support to 27,000 businesses in NI. This is for all businesses with a NAV up to £15,000
• Hospitality, Tourism and Retail Sectors Grant Scheme – An immediate grant of £25,000 will be provided to companies in these sectors with a rateable value up to £51,000.

Information on these schemes will be made available at NI Business Info.

Further to this, the Department of Finance has announced a £100m emergency rates package for businesses. All NI businesses will pay zero rates for the next three months (April, May, June). This automatically reduces rates by 25%, in addition to any existing rate reliefs. This applies to all businesses and does not need to be repaid.

Business support helplines

HMRC tax helpline

HMRC has set up a helpline for businesses and self-employed people who are concerned about paying their tax due to COVID-19. Call 0800 0159 559 for help and advice.

Invest NI helpline

Get help with your business online, or by calling the Invest NI Helpline. Telephone: 0800 181 4422

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, outlined a raft of further measures last night to support the UK’s ailing businesses, those affected by the forbidding COVID-19 outbreak. The list that follows summarises his announcements in the order they were announced:

• The Treasury are making available £330bn of loan guarantees. These guarantees will underpin government backed bank loans on attractive terms. The loans can be used to support businesses through financial difficulties during the COVID-19 crisis. Note they are loans. At some point interest will be charged and repayments will have to be made. The Chancellor confirmed that if this level of support was insufficient, further guarantees would be forthcoming. 
• Support for liquidity to larger firms will be provided by low-cost, easily accessible commercial paper. Support for smaller firms will be accessed via the Business Interruption Loan Scheme previously announced – the initial loan ceiling of £1.2m is to be increased to £5m and no interest due for the first six months. Both of these schemes are due to be up and running by the start of next week.
• Further measures are to be introduced to support airlines. No details as yet.
• Businesses in the hospitality, leisure and retail sectors who have made claims for business interruption from their insurers due to government interventions, may have had difficulties making a claim. Government have now intervened and the insurers have agreed to pay up in appropriate cases.
• Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a rateable value below £51,000, will also receive – in addition to the 100% rates relief previously announced – a cash grant of up to £25,000 per business.
• In the same sector, the 100% rates reduction will be applied to all business irrespective of rateable value.

To clarify, the previous two bullet points mean that all businesses in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector – shops, pubs, theatres, music venues, restaurants etc – will have no rates to pay for 2020-21, and if the rateable value of their property is below £51,000, they may also be able to claim a cash grant of up to £25,000.  

• The £3,000 grants to smaller business, announced last week, are to be increased to £10,000.
• Mortgage lenders have agreed with government that individuals disrupted by the Coronavirus can have at least a three-month holiday from making mortgage repayments.

The Chancellor also hinted that there would be further support for incomes and jobs. Perhaps an increase in statutory sick pay or increased access to State Benefits. Watch this space.

What is not clear is how we claim for the various loans and grants on offer. We offer the following suggestions although the actual processes finally agreed may differ from these:
 

• Rates reductions should be made automatically and revised statement sent by local authorities in the coming weeks for 2020-21. Contact your local rating department to clarify that this is so.
• It is not clear how qualifying businesses will claim the grants mentioned in the above list – those that range between £10,000 to £25,000 – could be applications need to be made to local authorities or another government department. We will confirm as soon as details are released.
• We assume that you will need to apply to your bank for the guaranteed Business Interruption Loan. It is likely that your bank will need up-to-date figures to back up your application. Please call if you need help preparing these.
• At the time this update was composed, the government had still not confirmed how employers can claim back the 14-day cost of Statutory Sick Pay paid to employees. Again, we will publish details as soon as they are released.

Although not part of the Chancellor’s presentation, Chief Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Barclay, made a further announcement to parliament last night (17 March 2020). The government are postponing the roll-out of draconian IR35 measures to the private sector that would have affected the tax status of many incorporated contractors across the UK. This a welcome change as it will defer much disruption in this sector until the worst aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak have passed. The new rules are now slated to come into effect from 6 April 2021, a year later than planned. 

Our best wishes to all who are directly affected by this unprecedented outbreak. And please get in touch if you need more information or support.

It seems from the latest guidance published by Public Health England and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy that local authorities will be responsible for administering the special COVID-19 business rate relief and grant funding measures recently announced by government. It is understood that the administration of the business rates relief and grant payments will be given the highest priority across local government.

Business rate relief

If your business rates bill for the 2020-21 financial year showed that your business was eligible for 50% retail relief this relief will be increased to 100%. You are not required to contact your local authority and your revised bill will be sent in due course.

If you have a retail business with a rateable value in excess of £51,000 you will now be eligible for 100% business rate relief in 2020-21. This follows the Chancellor’s announcement on 17 March 2020 giving all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England a 100% business rates holiday for the next 12 months. Most businesses will have the uplifted relief applied against their business rate account automatically and revised bills will be issued. Any enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of, the reliefs should be directed to your relevant local authority.

Grant funding

A £25,000 grant will be provided to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses operating from smaller premises, with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000.

The government also announced new funding to support small businesses that already pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief (SBBR). A one-off grant of £10,000 to businesses currently eligible for SBRR or rural rate relief will be made to help meet their ongoing business costs. If your business is eligible for SBRR or rural rate relief, you will be contacted by your local authority – you do not need to apply.

Further government guidance on the methodology for paying these grants is expected to be published shortly.

Please note, regional variations may apply.