Dear Mr Studd,

Thank you for your correspondence/email to The Secretary of State about business rates relief.

The Secretary of State is grateful to you for having taken the time to write. I have been asked to respond on his behalf.

I was sorry to read about the difficult situation faced by yourself and those you represent in the British Association of Removers.

I hope you will appreciate that we are receiving a wide-range of contact about the Government’s response to Covid-19. For that reason, I have attached answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we are receiving, which I hope you find helpful and answers your specific concern(s).

This includes:

What support is available for all businesses at this time?
What support is available for SMEs?
What support is available for the self-employed?
Which businesses should be closed at this time?

The Prime Minister has said that the Government will do whatever it takes to win the fight against the pandemic. He has declared to businesses and workers: We will stand by you; we are determined to protect lives and to protect livelihoods.

During this turbulent time, the Prime Minister has said we will take every step that we can to ensure that businesses are protected, that the economy remains strong and that no-one – whether employed or self-employed, whatever the status of their employment – is penalised for doing the right thing.

If you have any further Covid-19 enquiries, our Business Support webpage is updated on a daily basis with the latest information and guidance: www.businesssupport.gov.uk/. We also have a helpline available where businesses can talk to an advisor: 0300 456 3565 and is the quickest routes for obtaining answers.

I hope this response is helpful.

Mary Foy

Retail/Business Support
BUSINESSES

What support is available for all businesses at this time?

  • The Government has made available a range of unprecedented new measures to provide support to businesses, self-employed people and individuals, including: A Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme where small and large employers will be eligible to apply for a government grant of 80% of workers’ salaries up to £2,500 a month. The scheme will be backdated to March 1 and available for at least three months, with first grants to be paid within weeks;
  • Deferral of the next quarter of VAT payments for firms, until the end of June – representing a £30bn injection into the economy;
  • Refunding employers in full, for up to 14 days, the cost of providing Statutory Sick Pay for any employee off work due to coronavirus
  • A Self-Employed Income Support Scheme will help eligible freelance workers receive up to £2,500 per month in grants for at least three months; and
  • £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses, delivered through three schemes:
  • Support for liquidity amongst large firms, with a major new scheme being launched by the Bank of England to help them bridge Coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans; and The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which will provide any viable business with a turnover of up to £45m access to government-backed finance of up to £5 million. Interest payments and any lender-levied fees for businesses will be covered by the Government for an initial period of up to twelve months.
  • The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) will ensure that more firms are able to benefit from government-backed support during this difficult time. It will provide a government guarantee of 80% to enable banks to make loans of up to £25 million to firms with an annual turnover of between £45 million and £500 million.  The government will provide a guarantee of 80% on each loan facility to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The scheme is available through more than 40 accredited lenders, which are listed on the British Business Bank website. british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils-2/ 

We are providing £20bn of direct fiscal support for businesses in England through tax relief and cash grants to help business manage cash flow. This includes:

  • Cash grants of up to £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000;
  • Cash grants of £10,000 for several hundred thousand businesses eligible for small businesses eligible for business rate relief and rural rate relief; and
  • Entirely removing all eligible properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector from business rates, so that no pub, hotel, or high street will pay business rates for 12 months.

Funding of the Small Business Grant Fund will be administered by local authorities. Businesses do not need to apply, as they will be contacted directly by their local authority.

Guidance to Local Authorities informing the operation and delivery of the funding has now been published on the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding.

For further advice and guidance, please see www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses.

The dedicated gov.uk pages should be helpful as a first port of call.  We have also strengthened our Business Support Helpline, 0300 456 3565, so businesses can pick up the phone and speak directly to an adviser

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What support is available for SMEs?

  • The new Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme is now available for applications. This scheme will help any viable business with a turnover of up to £45m to access government-backed finance of up to £5 million. Interest payments and any lender-levied fees for businesses will be covered by the Government for an initial period of up to twelve months. The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each facility to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The Government is also stopping lenders from requesting personal guarantees for loans under £250,000 and making operational changes to speed up lending approvals. The government will continue to cover the first twelve months of interest and fees. For loans over £250,000, personal guarantees will be limited to just 20% of any amount outstanding on the CBILS lending after any other recoveries from business assets. The scheme is available through more than 40 accredited lenders, which are listed on the British Business Bank website, please see british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils-2/

 

  • deferral of the next quarter of VAT payments for firms, until the end of June – representing a £30bn injection into the economy
  • £20bn of direct fiscal support for businesses in England through tax relief and cash grants to help business manage cash flow. This includes:
  • Cash grants of up to £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000;
  • Cash grants of £10,000 for several hundred thousand businesses eligible for small businesses eligible for business rate relief and rural rate relief; and
  • Entirely removing all eligible properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector from business rates, so that no pub, hotel, or high street will pay business rates for 12 months.

This comes on top of compensation for statutory sick pay that the Chancellor announced in the Budget.

Funding will be administered by local authorities. Businesses do not need to apply, as they will be contacted directly by their local authority.  Guidance informing the operation and delivery of the funding has now been published on the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding.

For further advice and guidance, please see www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses. The dedicated gov.uk pages should be helpful as a first port of call.  We have also strengthened our Business Support Helpline, 0300 456 3565, so businesses can pick up the phone and speak directly to an adviser

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What support is available for the self-employed?

On 26 March, the Chancellor announced a new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme. Millions of people across the UK could benefit from the new scheme, with those eligible receiving 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. The self-employed will receive up to £2,500 per month in grants for at least 3 months.

Self-employed people who are eligible for the new scheme will be able to apply directly to HMRC for the taxable grant, using a simple online form, with the cash being paid directly into people’s bank account.

The Government is working urgently to develop the scheme and we estimate that the first payments will be made towards the beginning of June 2020. In the interim, the self-employed will still able eligible for other government support including more generous universal credit and business continuity loans.

The Government has introduced a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element. This means that for a single Universal Credit claimant (25 or over), the standard allowance will increase from £317.82 to £409.89 per month.

The new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), delivered by the British Business Bank, is now available to support businesses, including self-employed people. As long as the self-employed person has a business bank account, they will be eligible to apply. Decision-making on whether a business is eligible to access CBILS will be fully delegated to the 40+ accredited lenders. The scheme covers overdrafts, loans, asset finance and invoice finance. The Government is also stopping lenders from requesting personal guarantees for loans under £250,000 and making operational changes to speed up lending approvals. The government will continue to cover the first twelve months of interest and fees. For loans over £250,000, personal guarantees will be limited to just 20% of any amount outstanding on the CBILS lending after any other recoveries from business assets. Full guidance, including eligibility criteria, is available at www.british-business-bank.co.uk/cbils.

For further advice and guidance, please see www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses. Our dedicated gov.uk pages should be helpful as a first port of call.  We have also strengthened our Business Support Helpline, 0300 456 3565, so businesses can pick up the phone and speak directly to an adviser.

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Which businesses should be closed at this time?

On 26 March, the Government updated its guidance to clarify which businesses and premises must close, please see: www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close-guidance