In order to quickly and easily determine what financial support is available to businesses and self-employed people during the coronavirus pandemic, a new ‘support finder’ tool has been launched.

The new business support finder tool can be found at https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder

A simple questionnaire takes under a minute to complete and will signpost businesses and the self- employed to relevant government financial support.

More details on support for businesses can be found on the Government’s Coronavirus Business Support Hub

Runnymede Borough Council staff are working every day to identify those businesses eligible for Small Business Grant (SBG) or Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant (RHLG) funding and are contacting businesses as soon as they can to pro-actively provide support.

They have paid 658 grants at a total of £8,680,000 so far. If you haven’t heard from the Council and think your business is eligible for either of these funds please apply to Runnymede Borough Council using the online form on the councils website

The EM3 LEP have also compiled a useful list of resources from government and HMRC which are available to help businesses, employees and the self-employed affected by COVID-19.

Please visit their website enterprisem3.org.uk/ for further for information.

Surrey Chambers of Commerce are running a series of weekly free webinars for all businesses.

Please find the link to the next Chamber Solutions webinar on 30 April entitled ‘Shaping the Best Possible New Normal’, which will look at what businesses need to start thinking about as we move towards recovery.

Booking details and more information is available at Surrey Chambers Event

Many SME manufacturers have stated that right now they require business advice to mitigate the impact of Coronavirus

The Manufacturing Growth Programme has grants available to help support SME manufacturers at this time of uncertainty.

Many manufacturers see this unprecedented time as an opportunity to review or develop strategies that will see their businesses recover, grow and become more resilient over the coming months and years.

You may be looking to diversify production to support a local or national NHS or government call, explore different markets for your products, enhance your manufacturing processes, review HR support, develop a marketing strategy, explore new standards and accreditations plus a lot more.

To support your business in pursuing these areas, business improvement projects are available with grant contribution of up to 33% towards the cost.

To find out more contact Steve Sharp, your local Manufacturing Growth Manager:
email [email protected]

Mobile 07973 778 222

UK businesses driving innovation and development will be helped through the coronavirus outbreak with a £1.25 billion government support package including a new £500 million loan scheme for high-growth firms, called the Future Fund, and £750 million of targeted support for small and medium sized businesses focusing on research and development.

Delivered in partnership with the British Business Bank and launching in May, the Future Fund will provide UK-based companies with between £125,000 and £5 million from the government, with private investors at least matching the government commitment. These loans will automatically convert into equity on the company’s next qualifying funding round, or at the end of the loan if they are not repaid. To be eligible, a business must be an unlisted UK registered company that has previously raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third party investors in the last five years.

The government is committing an initial £250 million in funding towards the scheme, which will initially be open until the end of September. The scale of the fund will be kept under review.

The £750 million of targeted support for the most R&D intensive small and medium size firms will be available through Innovate UK’s grants and loan scheme.

Innovate UK, the national innovation agency, will accelerate up to £200 million of grant and loan payments for its 2,500 existing Innovate UK customers on an opt-in basis. An extra £550 million will also be made available to increase support for existing customers and £175,000 of support will be offered to around 1,200 firms not currently in receipt of Innovate UK funding.

The first payments will be made by mid-May.

High Street shops to be protected from aggressive rent collection and closure and asked to ‘pay what they can’.

The majority of landlords and tenants are working well together to reach agreements on debt obligations, but some landlords have been putting tenants under undue pressure by using aggressive debt recovery tactics.

To stop these unfair practices, the government will temporarily ban the use of statutory demands (made between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2020) and winding up petitions presented from Monday 27 April, through to 30 June, where a company cannot pay its bills due to coronavirus. The measures will be included in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill.

Government is also laying secondary legislation to provide tenants with more breathing space to pay rent by preventing landlords using Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) unless they are owed 90 days of unpaid rent.

However, while landlords are urged to give their tenants the breathing space needed, the government calls on tenants to pay rent where they can afford it or what they can in recognition of the strains felt by commercial landlords too.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced a multi-million pound support package to keep the flow of goods and services running smoothly in and out of the UK and around the country throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Measures include:

• support for critical routes between Britain and the European mainland
• up to £17 million for critical routes between Northern Ireland and Great Britain
• up to £10.5 million for lifeline ferry and freight services to the Isle of Wight and the Scilly Isles

The funding will ensure the ongoing supply of critical goods into the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, with up to 31 routes eligible for support, subject to discussions with operators.

The Transport Secretary also announced thousands of volunteers, vehicles, aircraft and ships from the transport sector have been placed on standby in a new ‘Transport Support Unit’ (TSU) to assist frontline responders during the crisis across the whole of the UK.

They will be able to distribute packages to vulnerable people and essential medical supplies and PPE to hospitals and care homes.

FSB Covid-19 Survey

Topic: Getting your views on the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19)

Impact: Extensive measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 look set to continue across the UK.

Survey length: 12-15 minutes.

This survey is an opportunity to have your voice heard as we continue to provide robust evidence to Government, highlighting the myriad problems faced by small firms and look to seek solutions.

Be assured that your individual responses, including information of any other businesses that you might name, are completely confidential.

If you experience any problems with the survey, please email [email protected]

Phones for Patients are looking for donations of 4G enabled devices for care homes.

If they can provide these devices it will enable GPs to carry out remote consultations and allow friends and family to speak with their relatives. The devices do need to be 4G enabled, have a front facing camera and run on Android (not iPads).

If you can help please contact Phones for Patients phonesforpatients.uk/

We will be posting regular updates on our website, as well as sending out our e-newsletter and messages on our Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, so please sign up or ‘follow’us.