Government Support

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES

Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant

The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure scheme grant payment is a one-off payment which is applicable to:

  • Business rated businesses – you receive a business rate bill.
  • The applicant must be the rate payer named on the business rates bill.
  • The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure scheme will provide one-off grants of up to £6,000. 

The following payment thresholds apply for these businesses:

  • Businesses occupying hereditaments appearing on the local rating list with a rateable value of exactly £15,000 or under on 30 December 2021 will receive a payment of £2,667.
  • Businesses occupying hereditaments appearing on the local rating list with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000 on 30 December 2021 will receive a payment of £4,000.
  • Businesses occupying hereditaments appearing on the local rating list with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 or over on 30 December 2021 will receive a payment of £6,000.

Application deadlines

The government require decisions and pre-payment verification checks on application details and bank accounts to be completed by 28 February 2022. 

To allow sufficient time to complete these checks, the application closing date is 13 February 2022. No applications will be accepted after this date.

Successful applications will be paid as soon as possible and final payments will be made by 31 March 2022.

Read the full eligability criertia and how to apply at www.woking.gov.uk/localrestrictionsgrants

England has moved to Plan B in response to the risks of the Omicron variant.

  • Get vaccinated and get your booster dose
  • Wear a face covering in most indoor public places and on public transport
  • Work from home, if you can
  • Let fresh air in if you meet indoors. Meeting outdoors is safer
  • Get tested and self-isolate if required

Please visit this page regularly or sign-up for e-alerts via our Woking Works newsletter: https://www.wokingworks.com/newsletters/subscribe.

 

Additional support for businesses affected by the Omicron variant

Additional support will be available for businesses who have been impacted by the Omicron variant, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak announced on 21 December 2021.

These include:

  • Businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in England will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises, plus more than £100 million discretionary funding will be made available for local authorities to support other businesses. Please note: This grant scheme has just been announced. More information about the application process and grant critieria will follow in due course.
  • Government will also cover the cost of Statutory Sick Pay for Covid-related absences for small and medium-sized employers across the UK
  • £30 million further funding will be made available through the Culture Recovery Fund, enabling more cultural organisations in England to apply for support during the winter

These additional measures will reinforce the existing package of business support, including:

  • business rates relief meaning that the majority of businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors will see a 75% reduction in their business rates bill across the entire financial year and a new 50% capped business rates relief next financial year;
  • a 12.5% reduced rate of VAT for hospitality and tourism to support the cash flow and viability of around 150,000 businesses and protect over 2.4 million jobs, until the end of March;
  • the £1.5 billion Covid Additional Relief Fund for businesses that have not previously had business rates support;
  • businesses will be protected from eviction if they are behind on rent on their premises, thanks to the moratorium in place until March 2022;
  • access to finance for SMEs through the Recovery Loan Scheme to June; and
  • Bounce Back Loan repayment flexibility, with borrowers having the option to take a 6 month repayment holiday, three 6 month interest only periods or extend their loan to 10 years, which almost halves the monthly payment.
  • support for the aviation and travel sectors, including over £12 billion since the beginning of the pandemic, and the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS) until the end of March 2022.
  • HMRC stand ready to support any business impacted by the coronavirus pandemic through its Time to Pay arrangement, and the Chancellor has asked them to offer businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in particular the option of a short delay, and payment in instalments, on a case by case basis, as part of this.

If you have been told by NHS Test and Trace to stay at home and self-isolate, you may be entitled to a one-off support payment of £500 if you’re on a low income and meet all these conditions:

  • you’re employed or self-employed
  • you, or a child you’re the parent or guardian of, has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), or been told you or the child are a close contact by NHS Test and Trace
  • you cannot work from home and will lose income by self-isolating or staying at home to care for the child
  • you’re not exempt from self-isolating

Find out more and how to appy here.

VAT

Reduced VAT of 5% for hospitality and leisure is to be held for further 6 months with an interim VAT rate of 12.5% to be introduced in April 2022.

VAT rate and registration threshold to remain frozen until April 2026.

Business Rates

For the remaining nine months of the year, business rates will be discounted by two thirds, up to a value of £2million for closed businesses.

Corporation Tax

From April 2023 Corporation Tax will be increased to 25%.

Businesses with £50,000 or less profit will remain at a rate of 19%.

There will be a taper in place for businesses with profit above £50,000, going up to £250,000 of profit.

Profits above £250,000 will be taxed at 25%.

Tax treatment of losses

Businesses to now be able to carry back tax losses of up to £2million for 3 years.

Business Investment “Super Deduction”

When companies invest in capital equipment, they will be able to reduce their tax bill by 130% of the cost.

Apprenticeships and training

The government has doubled the payment to businesses hiring apprentices to £3,000, regardless of age, and a new £7 million“flexi-job” apprenticeship programme in England programme will be introduced, allowing apprentices to work across multiple projects with different employers in one sector. An additional £126 million was pledged to create 40,000 more traineeships, funding high-quality work placements and training for 16-24 year-olds in the 2021/22 academic year.

A new Help to Grow scheme will offer up to 130,000 companies a digital and management boost while a new UK-wide management programme will upskill 30,000 SMEs over three years. 

Government support & Information

OTHER SOURCES OF ADVICE AND GUIDANCE

Most business membership and support organisations are trying to disseminate the most up-to-date information on Government and other support measures as soon as it becomes available. This information is normally available to both members and non-members please use the links below:

British Chambers of Commerce – National Chamber of Commerce
https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/page/coronavirus

Surrey Chamber of Commerce 
– local Surrey Chamber of Commerce
https://www.surrey-chambers.co.uk/representation/how-is-your-business-doing/

Enterprise M3 - Local Enterprise Partnership (Public/Private Partnership)
https://enterprisem3growthhub.co.uk/coronavirus-covid-19

Institute of Directors – Membership Organisation for Company Directors
https://www.iod.com/iod-coronavirus-support-hub

Confederation of British Industry – Represents British larger businesses
https://www.cbi.org.uk/coronavirus-hub 

Federation of Small Businesses 
– Represents British micro and small businesses
https://www.fsb.org.uk/campaign/covid19.html

Enterprise Nation – organisation supporting micro and small businesses
https://www.enterprisenation.com/coronavirus-support/

ACAS - The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service

Information for employees and employers

ACAS has published information for employees and employers, including simple steps to help protect the health and safety of staff during this time. Find out more on
https://www.acas.org.uk/coronavirus

Association of British Insurers – representing British Insurance sector
https://www.abi.org.uk/products-and-issues/topics-and-issues/coronavirus-qa/

Security tips for businesses

If you have been instructed by the government to close your business in line with the Covid-19 guidance or you have chosen to close, it is a good time for you to review your security to reduce the chances of your premises being targeted by opportunist thieves, or your business being subjected to cyber attacks.

Secured by Design, the Police Digital Security Centre and the National Counter Terrorism Security Office have put together the Top 10 Security Tips for Closed Business Premises, the Top 10 Cyber Security Tips for Working at Home and the latest Counter Terrorism advice following the launch of a new app. Download here.

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