Chamber News

Last week, Norfolk’s Resilience Forum launched an appeal for firms to help support the need for more Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).  They have now passed 100 responses to the appeal.  This is a tremendous show of support from the business community.  Every offer, large or small, is needed and they would like to thank every one of those businesses.

The PPE appeal is still open, if you think you can help please go to: https://newanglia.co.uk/data-capture-for-ppe-supply-during-covid/ to pledge your support.  The 100 pledges of support join an existing list of partners who got in touch directly – so there are no over 250 leads on the database.

New Anglia LEP are pulling together all the offers of support and is then sharing the information with local partners who procure their own supplies directly. The list includes:

• Companies offering existing supplies
• Companies who are in the PPE/medical equipment supply chain making us aware of deliveries, stock and provision
• Companies who are already or who plan to change their production to make PPE (or parts for PPE)

The equipment that is needed is listed below – please register if you can help with any of these products:

• Alcohol/ethanol based sanitisers
• Chlorine based wipes
• Disinfectant solutions
• Disposable aprons/coveralls/overshoes
• Face masks
• Face visors
• Nitrile Gloves
• Protective suits
• Elasticated overshoes
• Aprons
• Eye Protection

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended by one month to reflect continuing social distancing measures – a move that will allow firms from across UK to continue to protect millions of jobs

The government’s furlough scheme that is keeping millions of people in jobs will be extended for a further month, the Chancellor confirmed today.

Following on from yesterday’s announcement to keep the social distancing measures in place, Rishi Sunak said the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) would now be open until the end of June – providing businesses with the certainty they need.

The scheme, which allows firms to furlough employees with the government paying cash grants of 80% of their wages up to a maximum of £2,500, was originally open for three months and backdated from the 1 March to the end of May.  However, the Chancellor said he would keep the scheme under review and extend it if necessary.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:

“We’ve taken unprecedented action to support jobs and businesses through this period of uncertainty, including the UK-wide Job Retention Scheme. With the extension of the coronavirus lockdown measures yesterday, it is the right decision to extend the furlough scheme for a month to the end of June to provide clarity.

“It is vital for people’s livelihoods that the UK economy gets up and running again when it is safe to do so, and I will continue to review the scheme so it is supporting our recovery.

The government has taken unprecedented action to help the economy and society bridge a period of national emergency so that as many people as possible can get back to work as the situation improves.”

Commenting on the announcement, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy for Norfolk Chambers said:

“Norfolk businesses will be pleased that the Chancellor has responded to their calls for the Job Retention Scheme to be extended. This common sense move will provide many with the support they need to protect livelihoods as lockdown continues.

“With applications for the scheme opening on Monday, and April’s payday fast approaching, it is essential that payments are made as soon as possible. Any delay would exacerbate the cash crisis many firms are facing and could threaten jobs and businesses.”

Following lobbying from the British Chambers and the Chamber Network, the UK government has extended the eligibility for the Coronavirus Job Retention (CJR) Scheme to new starters on the PAYE system up to 19 March. The updated guidance also contains more details on how to claim and who is eligible for furlough. This lobbying success means that thousands more employees will be able to receive support through the CJR Scheme

Get ready to make a claim under the CJR Scheme

If you’re eligible for the scheme, there are things that you can do now to be ready for when the system is live on Monday 20 April. You’ll need to provide the following to make a claim:

• The bank account number and sort code for when the claim is paid.
• The name and phone number of the person in your business who will respond to any questions.
• The Self-Assessment UTR (Unique Tax Reference), Company UTR or CRN (Company Registration Number).
• The name, employee number and National Insurance number for furloughed employees.
• The total amount being claimed for all employees and the total furlough period.

New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership have a temporary jobs page onto their website.  The page compiles vacancies with organisations trying to recruit additional staff to continue to operate during the current Covid-19 situation across the East Anglia region.

Vacancies include those at supermarkets, such as Tescos, Morrisons, Aldi and East of England Co-op; food producers such as Bernard Matthews; various vacancies in the care sector, and fruit and crop picking and packing.

Visit vacancies page now.

If you would like more information about adding your vacancies to this page, please contact Natasha Waller on: 07384 253 355 or email: Natasha.waller@newanglia.co.uk

The funding from government to local authorities for business rates relief and small business grants continues to filter through.  However, the local authorities are taking slightly different approaches as to how the funding is being issued to the recipients.  Having reviewed each of their websites, Norfolk Chambers have compiled below the headlines from each local authority.

NB: As more updates are received, the below information may change, please visit the relevant local authority website for the very latest information.  It is also possible that your local authority might be struggling to contact your business, please do be proactive in contacting them, if you feel your business is eligible.

Breckland Council

Breckland Council are trying to prepare as much as possible to enable us to deal with the changes and distribution as quickly as they can when they are able to release these payments. 

The grants will be paid out based on the business occupying the relevant property on 11 March 2020. Any business caught falsifying their records to gain additional grant money will face prosecution and any funding issued will be subject to claw back.

If you think you may be entitled to a grant, please complete their online form

Business Rates Holidays

Government have introduced a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England for the 2020 to 2021 tax year.

Businesses within these industries do not need to do anything and will be applied to your next bill for April 2020. However, local authorities may have to reissue your bill automatically to exclude the business rate charge

Broadland Council & South Norfolk Council

https://www.broadland.gov.uk/downloads/file/5934/covid-19_business_support_faqs

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/coronavirus-information/business-support

Q: What support is there for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses that pay business rates?

A: The Government will introduce a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England for the 2020-21 tax year.

 Eligibility – You are eligible for the business rates holiday if:

• your business is based in England, AND

• your business is in the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector.

Properties that will benefit from the relief will be those that are wholly or mainly being used: Properties that will benefit from the relief will be occupied hereditaments that are wholly or mainly being used:

• as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues,

• for assembly and leisure: or

• for hospitality such as hotels, guest & boarding premises and self-catering accommodation

Further details on eligibility are set out in the expanded retail discount guidance. Businesses that received the retail discount in the 2019 to 2020 tax year will be rebilled by the Council as soon as possible.

For qualifying hospitality and leisure businesses you do not need to do anything.  If we consider you are eligible for this rates holiday the Council is already in the process of awarding the discounts and issuing revised bills. 

If you believe you should qualify and haven’t heard from us by 10 April please email: nndr@s-norfolk.gov.uk

Q: I am struggling with my business rates, what should I do?

A: If you are not able to pay your business rates please contact the business rates team as soon as possible.  The sooner the conversation is started they may be able to assist with rescheduling payment dates.

Broadland District Council rates team – business.rates@broadland.gov.uk

South Norfolk Council rates team – nndr@s-norfolk.gov.uk

Great Yarmouth Borough Council

https://www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/business-rates

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is sending letters this week to about 3,000 local businesses which are eligible for the Government’s business relief grants.

This will go to your premises address or (where different) your correspondence address for business rates. If you are eligible, please complete the online form – HERE. The council will administer and pay out the grants as soon as possible.

The council is working closely with New Anglia LEP, other local councils and business groups to ensure our local businesses get the support they are entitled to.  

If you have any immediate concerns, then please get in touch. Lots of information and support about the grants, eligibility criteria and further business advice is available HERE on our website which is being kept updated daily.

Please follow the enterpriseGY Twitter account, where rolling updates and information on business support, grants, reliefs and job vacancies are being published.

King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council

https://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/businessrateshelp

The form to verify your details for the Small Business Grant or the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant is now available. The Borough Council are now working through the list of eligible ratepayers and starting to pay the grant.  Grants paid on 31 March 2020 will show on your bank statement as ‘Bus Grant’ followed by your Business Rates account reference.

The Borough Council have now received the guidance on Business Rates Relief and are busy identifying affected businesses so that we can update accounts and send revised bills to our customers. There is no need for you to contact them or complete any application forms – they will do everything for you.

North Norfolk District Council

https://www.north-norfolk.gov.uk/tasks/business-and-trade/business-rates/frequently-asked-questions-business-rates-and-coronavirus/

When I am going to hear about getting help with a grant to support my business and how much will it be?

North Norfolk District Council are currently working on identifying businesses which will be eligible for the grants. A one-off grant of £10,000 to support small businesses currently eligible for Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) or rural rate relief.

If your business is in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector in England, then you may be entitled to a cash grant. If you have a property with a rateable value of less than £15,000 then you will be entitled to a grant of £10,000, whether or not you are entitled to small business rate relief or rural rate relief.

If your business is in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector. If you have a property with a rateable value of between £14,999 and £51,000, then you will be entitled to a cash grant of £25,000.

NNDC will be contacting customers and asking them to complete an online form to confirm they have the correct occupier and the business is still trading. Once they have the information back, this will be checked and grants awarded.  They are looking to make payments to customers in early April.

Norwich City Council

https://www.norwich.gov.uk/info/20399/coronavirus_covid-19_latest_information_and_advice/3558/support_for_businesses_paying_business_rates

Business rates relief

You don’t need to take any action. Norwich City will identify businesses that are entitled to the discount and will send a revised bill as soon as possible.

Grants

Norwich City are asking all eligible businesses to complete our online form to ensure they have all the correct details to enable them to process their payment.

Business grant scheme form

Not sure if you are eligible for a grant? Make sure by reading through these FAQs.

Business rates collection

Norwich City understand that this a challenging time for many businesses, but we do expect those that can afford to maintain their direct debit or payment plans to keep up with their payments.

However, to support businesses that may be struggling at this time, they will not be taking any enforcement action.

In the short-term, Norwich City are proposing to introduce some flexible payment plans where their customers can opt to start their payments for the new 2020/21 charge period in June rather than April.  Please email revenues@norwich.gov.uk to request a change to your payment plan.

How businesses apply for financial support

Norwich City will automatically award the relevant relief or grant once guidance and funding is received from central government which they are expecting by early April.

They will award any relief direct to the business rates account and any grant will be paid separately. They will send you an updated bill showing the relief applied.

Want to know more about furloughed employees?  Watch HMRC’s recorded webinar which provides guidance on the Scheme including information and advice on furloughed workers; scheme eligibility and how to calculate a claim and much more…

Watch Now

More than 70 businesses have offered their support to a campaign help secure supplies of Personal Protective Equipment for workers in vital services.

The appeal, which was launched by councils and organisations across Norfolk last week (Wednesday 8th), encourages businesses to provide details of PPE which they have available in stock or their capacity or capability to produce equipment.

Seventy four responses have already been logged through the central database since the launch. That adds to many firms who had already contacted New Anglia LEP and other partners to offer support, taking the total number of active leads for PPE to over 200.

A bulk delivery of PPE has been received from Government, but this appeal to businesses should ensure additional stocks to make sure front line workers have the right PPE available for a sustained period.

Trevor Holden, Head of the Tactical Coordination Group, that is overseeing the delivery of the multi-agency response across Norfolk, said:

“The response from our business community has been great and on behalf of all local agencies, I would like to thank everyone who has contacted us and offered support. It really shows people coming together to help protect our front line workers and save lives.

“Producing additional PPE locally, and using stock which is unused in businesses which might currently be closed, will mean we can continue to have stocks available for the range of front line staff who are keeping out essential services running.”

“This campaign will continue to run, so if you have stock of PPE – no matter how small – or can produce equipment, please make sure you get in touch.”

The products being offered and produced include hand sanitiser, face visors, face masks, coveralls, aprons and protective suits.

Chris Starkie, Chief Executive of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said:

“It is great that so many companies have come forward to support this appeal already, and we’re sure there are many more who will get involved.

“We understand that this is a very challenging time for many businesses and their staff. The New Anglia Growth Hub can offer free business support, including information about the new Government grants and schemes, to any business in Norfolk or Suffolk as well as advice on how your business can help produce PPE.”

If your business can help, please complete the simple contact form at https://newanglia.co.uk/data-capture-for-ppe-supply-during-covid/

As the Coronavirus continues to impact the day-to-day operations of businesses across our region, Norfolk Chambers stand ready to support you. Working with the British Chambers of Commerce, we need to hear from you about how your business is coping. 

The results from last week’s Tracker have now been published, but given the rapid pace of developments, we now need to understand the immediate short terms impacts, as well as some of the more medium to long term impacts on your business. We are in constant contact with the UK Government and Bank of England as business support packages have been developed.

In this 2-3 minute poll: – Covid-19 Business Tracker – please tell us the immediate business conditions you are facing and whether your business is aware of or has used the recently announced support packages from government. Your input is essential to our work on behalf of your business. We intend to seek your views over the next few weeks to track progress. As a business leader, your views have never been more important.

Take the Business Tracker poll now.

Results from the third BCC Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker reveal that the majority of businesses responding to the survey have now furloughed a proportion of their workforce, and are awaiting funds from the Government’s Job Retention Scheme to enable them to pay staff.

• 66% of survey respondents have furloughed staff in anticipation of scheme going live
• More than half of firms (59%) have three months cash in reserve or less
• 2% of firms surveyed had successfully accessed CBILS and 15% of those surveyed are now receiving grants

The leading business organisation’s weekly tracker poll, which serves as a barometer of the pandemic’s impact on businesses and the effectiveness of government support measures, received 701 responses, including those from Norfolk, and is the largest independent survey of its kind in the UK. The third tranche of polling was conducted from 8-10 April. 

Businesses furloughing employees

Last week’s tracker found that 71% of respondents said they intended to furlough staff at some point. This week, the tracker confirms that 66 per cent of firms had now furloughed a proportion of their staff in anticipation of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme going live and making payments. 31% said they have furloughed between 75% to 100% of their workforce.  

Last week HMRC confirmed the scheme would be open to applications during the week of 20 April, leaving only a short time for funds to start to reach cash-strapped businesses before April’s payroll is processed. 

Cash flow concerns

Business’ cash flow, an important indicator of overall economic health, remains an urgent concern with more than half of firms reporting cash in reserve of three months or less. The percentage of firms reporting less than a month’s worth of cash in reserve (17%) and 1 to 3 months’ cash in reserve (36%) has remained broadly unchanged week-to-week, but remains concerningly high. 

The percentage of firms reporting no cash in reserve remained at 6% compared to last week, as did the proportion of firms with 12 months’ cash in reserve (also 6%). 

Access to government support schemes

The slow start in firms successfully accessing government support schemes has continued.  2% of respondents reported they had successfully accessed the CBILS this week (double last week’s 1% figure), with 9% of respondents unsuccessful.  Of those who were unsuccessful, slow or no response from lenders was cited as the main reason. This suggests firms could still be having difficulty accessing the support through banks, despite the announcements on 2nd April designed to simplify and speed up the CBILS process. 

15% of respondents said they had successfully accessed grants for small businesses, a rise of 7% on the previous week. 12% of respondents said they were unsuccessful in accessing these grants. The overwhelming majority of those who were unsuccessful reported they did not meet the criteria. 

Commenting on the results, BCC Director General Dr Adam Marshall said:

“Businesses on the frontline need cash to start flowing from support schemes fast. With April’s payday coming up, we are fast approaching a crunch point, and both the furlough scheme and CBILS facilities need to be accelerated.  

“While we’ve seen a high number of firms furloughing staff in anticipation of the Job Retention Scheme coming online, it is still unclear whether they will start receiving funds before their payroll date, which could exacerbate the cash crisis many businesses are facing.  

“It is essential that the Job Retention Scheme makes payments to businesses as soon as possible. Any delay could mean more livelihoods under threat, more business failures, and more hardship in our communities.” 

The Chief Executive of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Jim Harra, has announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for furloughed workers is due to open on 20th April 2020 for applications.

The CJRS was announced on 20th March 2020 and is due to back date payments to the beginning of March but has not yet opened for applications, despite the fact that many companies have been furloughing staff for weeks already.

Jim Harra told MPs on the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee that he was confident the scheme would be able to handle the anticipated surge in applications when it opens on 20th April 2020.  Mr Harra also added that he expected the scheme to make ‘payments later this month, before the 30th April’.

Commenting on the announcement, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy for Norfolk Chambers said:

“The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was welcomed by the Norfolk business community and will undoubtedly protect jobs, but we need HMRC to meet their commitment of making payments before the end of April . As our recent business poll identified, 77% of local firms said cash flow was their number one concern and many companies will not have the cash to pay staff for another month, without access to the Government’s furlough payments.”

Public Health England has published new guidance on social distancing in the workplace and updates to the guidance to employers and businesses about Coronavirus

An appeal has been launched to urge businesses and communities across Norfolk to help secure supplies of Personal Protective Equipment for workers in vital services.

Councils and organisations across the county, including Norfolk Chambers, are backing the drive to ensure stocks of PPE are available in the coming weeks and months.

Whilst the Government has significantly increased deliveries of PPE into Norfolk – local businesses can still play an important role.

With many small businesses currently closed, any PPE equipment such as masks, disposable gloves, aprons, eye googles, overshoes and hand sanitising gel can be used for the front line staff who are caring for our most vulnerable residents and keeping our vital services operating.

A number of firms have already come forward to offer PPE stock, or to use their facilities and staff to produce the items which are required.

Trevor Holden, Head of the Tactical Coordination Group, that is overseeing the delivery of the multi-agency response across Norfolk, said:

“The Government has supplied a significant amount of PPE in recent days. While we welcome this, we must also take local action to ensure we continue to have stocks to cover the wide range of front line staff that require it to keep our essential services running in these unprecedented times.

“PPE comes in a variety of types, for different uses, so we would ask that any business that has PPE that it would like to offer to contact New Anglia LEP on the details below.”

Over recent weeks, technicians at the University of East Anglia have been making up to 170 litres of hand sanitiser gel a day and Norwich-based gin distillery Bullards is also producing sanitising gel. Loddon engineering company Panel Graphic has recently started using its production line which usually produces display enhancement windows to make face visors for front line workers.

Chris Starkie, Chief Executive of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said:

“Our team has already spoken to dozens of companies, large and small, which have capacity and capability to produce equipment or stock which they no longer require. It has been great to see the business community come together in this way and I’ve no doubt that our local firms will continue to do all they can to support this appeal.

“We understand that this is a very challenging time for many businesses and their staff. The New Anglia Growth Hub can offer free business support, including information about the new Government grants and schemes, to any business in Norfolk or Suffolk as well as advice on how your business can help produce PPE.”

If your business can help, please complete the simple contact form at: https://newanglia.co.uk/data-capture-for-ppe-supply-during-covid/