Monthly Archives: March 2020

In this time of increased stress on the food supply chain, Food Innovation Wales has opened a helpline in each of its geographical areas. For food safety, technical or supply chain continuity (e.g. raw material suppliers), please contact the numbers below: North WalesFood Technology Centre, Coleg Menai: Paul Roberts / 07810 647432 / robert5p@gllm.ac.ukAnne-Marie Flinn / 07519 363187 / a.flinn@gllm.ac.u Mid WalesFood Centre Wales, Horeb: Arwyn Davies / 07970 304701 / arwyn.davies@ceredigion.gov.ukAngela Sawyer / angela.sawyer@ceredigion.ac.uk https://businesswales.gov.wales/foodanddrink/sites/foodanddrink/files/documents/Food%20Innovation%20Wales%20helpline%20-%20eng.pdf

The Business Grant has two different components. Grant 1 : For retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in Wales, a grant of £25,000 will be offered for businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £51,000. Grant 2 : For all other sectors the Welsh Government package also provides a £10,000 grant to all businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief with a rateable value of £12,000 or less. Further details are now available on each of the Local Authorities websites: https://www.anglesey.gov.uk/en/Business/Business-Finance-and-Grants/Welsh-Government-Business-Grants-COVID-19.aspx https://www.conwy.gov.uk/covid19grants https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/business/business-rates/business-rates-support-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.aspx https://www.flintshire.gov.uk/en/Business/Business-Rates/Business-Rates-Covid-19-Advice.aspx https://www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/en/Businesses/Help,-support-and-training/Covid-19-Business-Support.aspx https://beta.wrexham.gov.uk/service/covid-19-support-businesses https://businesswales.gov.wales/sites/business-wales/files/Non-Domestic%20Rates%20-%20Retail%2C%20Leisure%20and%20Hospitality%20Rates%20Relief%20-%20Guidance%20-%20FINAL%20%28E%29_0.pdf If you do not qualify for either of the two funding packages outlined above then there is help on […]

Development Bank of Wales – The Welsh Government and the Development Bank of Wales have announced the £100m Covid-19 Wales Business Loan Scheme to support businesses affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. The Scheme will be available from the Development Bank of Wales for a limited period. It is intended to provide support to businesses who are experiencing cashflow difficulties as a result of the pandemic. The loan scheme will work alongside the UK wide Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, other Welsh Government and UK Government support offers, providing more vital options for Welsh businesses. Loans of between £5,000 and £250,000 are available to businesses who have been trading longer than […]

A new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, covering a variety of different products such as loans, overdraft, invoice finance and asset finance, delivered by the British Business Bank, has launched on the 23 March to support primarily small and medium sized businesses to access bank lending and overdrafts. The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to a per-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The government will not charge businesses or banks for this guarantee, and the Scheme will support loans of up to £5 million in value. Businesses can access the first 12 months […]

The UK Government has announced a package of support for the Self Employed impacted by the Coronavirus outbreak, bringing support to the same level as that for employees. The new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, means those eligible will receive a cash grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profit over the last three years. This covers 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment. https://businesswales.gov.wales/support-self-employed For further information on the Self Employment Support Scheme follow this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme

The Welsh Government’s new regulations now state that all accommodation providers should close and are to remain in force until further notice. Businesses wanting to offer accommodation to key workers must get permission from their Local Authority to do so. https://gov.wales/coronavirus-guidance-holiday-accommodation-businesses?fbclid=IwAR15YFAkuWdysBezDCpOhA9bk4wUnhlQ85yudp1MGDqYiISAC7E8iR3KSM8

HMRC have released further details about how the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will work:   ·         The scheme is to avoid employees being made redundant. ·         It only applies to employees that are furloughed (employees on leave of absence). This means the employee must do no work, or generate any income, for the employer. ·         Employers do not have to operate this scheme. Employers can choose to carry on paying their furloughed employees or can choose to make them redundant. If an employee is made redundant the employer may have to pay redundancy and pay-in-lieu of notice. There is no government funding for either of these. In these circumstances it […]

Please keep a note of your meter readings and adjust your direct debits accordingly as you will be using a lot less consumption.