We wanted to share the latest update from Wychavon District Council:
Have you registered for grant support yet?
There are around 2,600 eligible businesses in Wychavon and so far at least 1,000 of these have not registered. Are you one of them? If you are reading this for the first time and think that you are eligible for a grant please complete this form to register. There is more information about the qualifying criteria at our business rates page.
Registering with us will enable you to claim one of the following two grants:
Cash Grant for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure
If you have already registered, over 600 grants have been processed and these funds are arriving in bank accounts now. Please keep checking the bank account you registered with us to see if the money has arrived. The team are working hard to get more out, and it’s hoped that the process will soon accelerate.
You must fill the form in carefully and accurately, small mistakes can cause a long delay in payment.
There are also a range of other measures in place to support self-employed people and businesses. More information is available on the Gov.uk website.
Wychavon District Council also have lots of useful information for businesses on their website.
Visit Wychavon's business support website.
Job Retention Scheme update
Under the Job Retention Scheme, it is perfectly possible, legal and may even be desirable for ‘furloughed’ workers to work elsewhere. For instance, the horticultural sector and the care sectors are both short of staff – in some cases, desperately so. For anyone looking for work whilst ‘furloughed’, please see the latest local job opportunities here.
The ‘new’ employer simply has to choose ‘Option C’ from the Starter Checklist which you can find here.
Extended Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
In response to feedback received since the scheme’s launch, the Chancellor is taking further action by extending the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) so that all viable small businesses affected by Covid-19, and not just those unable to secure regular commercial financing, will now be eligible. This change is designed to enable all long-term viable businesses experiencing difficulties as a result of the coronavirus outbreak to access finance.
£20m to help boost long-term resilience of COVID-19 impact
Grants of up to £50,000 will be available to technology and research focused businesses to develop new ways of working and help build resilience in industries such as delivery services, food manufacturing, retail and transport, as well as supporting people at home in circumstances like those during the coronavirus outbreak.
Innovations could include:
new technology allowing retailers to respond better to sudden spikes of consumer demand and improve deliveries across the UK.
new services for families to connect with and remotely monitor their elderly or vulnerable relatives, giving people peace of mind that their loved ones are receiving the services they require such as food deliveries, doctor’s appointments and paying bills.
creating education tools which seamlessly integrate the classroom with the kitchen table, allowing teachers to remotely set dynamic tasks, support vulnerable children and make certain no child is left behind.
The proposals will be reviewed as part of a competition launched by Innovate UK, seeking the best new ideas from businesses. All the projects will begin by June 2020 and will last up to 6 months, with products and services expected to be available to the public towards the end of this year.
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