Coronavirus guidance and updates

Business support grants 

Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRGS)

This scheme supports businesses that were open as usual, providing services in person to customers from their business premises, but which were then required by law to close for 28 days due to national lockdown restrictions imposed by government.

During the period of 5 November to 2 December 2020, a single grant to cover the 28 day period will be paid to each eligible business. The grant amounts will be fixed.

Businesses with more than one qualifying property will receive more than one grant.

What you will get

• If your business is eligible and has a property with a rateable value of £15,000 or under, you will receive a grant of £1,334 per 28-day qualifying restriction period.
• If your business is eligible and has a property with a rateable value of above £15,000 and below £51,000, you will receive a grant of £2,000 per 28-day qualifying period.

If your business is eligible and has a property with a rateable value of £51,000 or above, you will receive a grant of £3,000 per 28-day qualifying period.

Grants will be based on the rateable value of the property on the first full day of the national lockdown restrictions.

Eligibility

Businesses that are eligible are those that have been mandated to close by Government and include non-essential retail, leisure, personal care, sports facilities and hospitality businesses.

Your business may be eligible if it:

• occupies property on which it pays business rates
• has been required to close because of national restrictions that resulted in a first full day of closure on 5 November 2020
• has been required to close for 28 days because of the lockdown
• has been unable to provide its usual in-person customer service from its premises

Exclusions

• businesses which are able to continue to operate during the lockdown because they do not depend on providing direct in-person services from their premises
• businesses that have chosen to close, but have not been required to close by law as part of a national lockdown
• businesses that have reached the state aid limit
• businesses that are not the ratepayer
• businesses that are in administration, are insolvent or where a striking off notice has been made are not eligible for this scheme

  Any changes to the rating list (rateable value or to the hereditament) after the first full day of national restrictions and business closures regulations came into force including changes which have been backdated to this date, will be ignored for the purposes of eligibility.

Apply for a Local Restrictions Support Grant

Discretionary Grant Scheme (DGS)

This scheme  is aimed at helping those businesses and self employed in East Northamptonshire that are facing severe financial difficulties as a result of the current lockdown and that have no access to any other grant funding. It will be focused on businesses in the retail, hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors and those businesses whose predominately supply these sectors. Grants will be for up to £3,000 to cover the lockdown period and will be paid subject to an application process which will be open from 23 November to 12 December 2020.  

How much will you get?

In order to treat businesses equitably and fairly, the grant amounts for the DGS will align to those in the LRSF scheme. These will be if a business has a Rateable Value (RV):

1. If your business is eligible and has a property with a rateable value of up to £15,000 you will receive a grant of £1334 

2. If your business is eligible and has a property with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000, you will receive a grant of £2,000

3. If your business is eligible and has a property with a rateable value over £51,000, you will receive a grant of £3,000

 

Should your business not have a Rateable Value, the grant amount will be based on turnover:

1. £1,334 for turnover up to £75,000

2. £2,000 for turnover between £75,000 and £250,000

3. £3,000 for turnover above £250,000

Are you eligible?

The Government’s guidance encourages this fund to be used to help businesses that were not forced to close but severely impacted. For East Northamptonshire, the DGS will focus on the  following sectors:

• Retail
• Hospitality
• Tourism
• Leisure
• Suppliers who predominately rely on these sectors for business

In exceptional circumstances, the council reserves the right to make decisions on the allocation of the DGS to businesses that falls outside of this criteria.       

The DGS is to be primarily and predominantly allocated taking into consideration the following points.

1. Ongoing fixed costs
2. The number of staff employed
3. Loses incurred as a result of lockdown
4. Ability to trade online during the lockdown period

Other eligibility criteria that must be met to be able to access this grant are that the business:

            1. Cannot be insolvent

            2. Cannot be in administration

            3. Cannot have a striking off notice

            4. Must adhere to state aid requirements by receiving the funding

Apply for a Discretionary Grant.

Government guidance for businesses

A full range of business support measures have been made available to UK businesses and employees. This page helps businesses find out how to access the support and advice that has been made available, and is constantly updated.

SEMLEP

SEMLEP business advisors can help business owners navigate the HM Govt advice, and offer a wider support service. For example; helping businesses manage the continuing impact of COVID19 across different sectors, Brexit planning, Resilience Planning, and support with Redundancy.

• Email: growthhub@semlep.com
• Telephone: 0300 01234 35
• Website: www.semlepgrowthhub.com/coronavirus/

Recovery Through Enterprise - the council's local Economic Recovery Plan

To help local business respond to the changes and challenges of the economic impact of Covid-19, we have put in place a 'gateway' service through the University of Northampton.

Businesses can speak to an advisor 1-to-1, and through a diagnostic will be offered a range of support which includes, but is not limited to; financial planning, ongoing and bespoke 1-to-1 support with Building Business, mental health support, discounted membership of business organisations and referral to the widest range of support for startup, micro businesses and SMEs. This service can also help the Self-Employed.

• Telephone: 01604 892328
• Email: business_support@northampton.ac.uk

Website: www.recoverythroughenterprise.co.uk

NHS Test and Trace QR code app

A new app from the NHS has now been released for use in England and Wales.The app is a critical enhancement of NHS Test and Trace in England. It provide users with local risk information, and allow them to quickly and easily book a free test, and use a built-in QR scanner to check-in at venues. The app allows people to know more quickly if they are at risk of the virus, so they can take action fast to protect their communities and families. 

All businesses are asked to visited the gov.uk website and create their own QR code and more guidance can be found on the NHS website.

Health Protection

Guide for food businesses

Licensing

Central Licensing Administration Unit

Guidance for businesses

Government guidance has been published for businesses and other venues subject to further social distancing measures.

Friends Against Scams

Friends Against Scams aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams.

Business specific guidance for businesses looking to re-open following the COVID-19 pandemic:

Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)