Last updated: 6th January 2022
To stay up to date with the latest announcements in relation to COVID-19, please head to the Government website.
The Chancellor announced on Tuesday 21st December 2021, that additional support will be available for businesses who have been impacted by the Omicron variant. Further details can be found here. Below is a summary of the announcement:
- 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.
- 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.
Other support available to businesses include:
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for businesses that employ fewer than 250 employees.
- Recovery Loan Scheme – Loans between £25,001 and £10 million. The government announced that the Recovery Loan Scheme will be extended by six months to 30 June 2022, with the following changes applying from 1 January 2022:
> The scheme will only be open to businesses with a turnover not exceeding £45m per annum
> The maximum amount of finance available will be £2 million per business (maximum amount per Group limited to £6m)
> The guarantee coverage that the government will provide to lenders will be reduced to 70%
- Help to Grow programme – A programme for small and medium sized businesses to help you learn new skills, reach new customers and boost profits.
- Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England will not have to pay business rates for the 2020 to 2021 tax year.
- VAT reduced rate to 12.5% for hospitality, accommodation and attractions across the UK from 1st October 2021 until 31 March 2022.
Local support
You can also find free support, advice, and information on sources of finance through your local Growth Hub.
- Your local authority may also have grants available for businesses that have suffered or been impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Each local authority in Hampshire will have eligibility for any schemes they may currently be administering. Please contact your local authority (the council you pay your business rates to). If you are unsure of which local authority to contact, please get in touch with us on 07724 61 8392 or 0370 779 4785 and we can help you.
- The EM3 Growth Hub have a dedicated helpline for business and can provide one to one support and advice, access to information, webinars and other sources of support for businesses in the EM3 region.
- The Solent Growth Hub are working with several partners to identify additional support for businesses in the Solent region including additional funding and advice. On the Coronavirus Support Hub you will find a page dedicated to the support being offered.
- There are several Business Representative Organisations and Trade Associations in the UK offering sector specific guidance and are happy to hear from non-members and members alike, so do get in touch to find out more.
If you have a query that isn’t covered by this guidance you can contact the Government Business Support Helpline.
