COVID-19 – Summary of Support for Business

What

Details

UK Gov Announcement

Lines to Take

Business Interruption Loan Scheme

The temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will support small and medium-sized businesses with access to loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance of up to £5 million and for up to six years.

UK Government will also make a Business Interruption Payment to cover the first 12 months of interest payments and any lender-levied fees, so smaller businesses will benefit from no upfront costs and lower initial repayments.

UK government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to pre-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The scheme will be delivered through commercial lenders, backed by the Government-owned British Business Bank.

There are 40 accredited lenders able to offer the scheme, including all the major banks.

Businesses are eligible for the scheme if:

- the business is UK based, with turnover of no more than £45 million per year

- your business meets the other British Business Bank eligibility criteria

How do I access it?

To apply, businesses should talk to their bank or one of the 40 accredited finance providers offering the scheme (and not the British Business Bank) as soon as possible to discuss your business plan with them.

Businesses can find out the latest on the best ways to contact them via their websites. Please note that branches may currently be shut down to enable social distancing.

The full rules of the Scheme and the list of accredited lenders is available on the British Business Bank website.

If businesses have an existing loan with monthly repayments you may want to ask for a repayment holiday to help with cash flow.

This will be available to businesses in Wales via one of the 40 accredited finance providers

The Development Bank of Wales has loan and equity funding available immediately to Welsh businesses. The Welsh Government is working closely with the Development Bank for Wales to consider additional support to help businesses through the Covid-19 impact.

Businesses that have existing finance via the Development Bank of Wales and are worried about re-payments should contact the Bank directly to discuss.

The scheme is now open for applications. All major banks are offering this scheme.

COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility

Under the new Covid-19 The new Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) means that the Bank of England will buy short-term debt from larger companies. This will support companies which are fundamentally strong, but have been affected by a short-term funding squeeze. It will also support corporate finance markets overall and ease the supply of credit to all firms. The scheme will be funded by central bank reserves – in line with other Bank of England market operations. It will operate for at least 12 months, and for as long as steps are needed to relieve cash flow pressures on firms that make a material contribution to the UK economy.

Companies – and their finance subsidiaries – that make a material contribution to the UK economy are able to participate in the facility. More information on eligibility can be found on the Bank of England Website.

In order to access the CCFF, you will need to contact your bank. It is important to note that not all banks issue commercial paper. If your bank does not issue commercial paper, UK Finance will provide a list of banks that are able to assist. More information can be found on the Bank of England website.

This is available to businesses in Wales.

Businesses should visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses for information on how to access the scheme here.

More information is available from the Bank of England.

This scheme is now available for applications.

Income Tax Deferral

If you are self-employed, Income Tax payments due in July 2020 under the Self-Assessment system will be deferred to January 2021.

Eligibility - If you are self-employed, you are eligible.

This is an automatic offer with no applications required. No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period. HMRC have also scaled up their Time to Pay offer to all firms and individuals who are in temporary financial distress as a result of coronavirus and have outstanding tax liabilities.

Payments due on the 31 July 2020 will be deferred until the 31 January 2021.

This is available to self-employed people

Interest Rates

The Bank of England has cut its base rate to 0.1%

This is available to businesses in Wales

We welcome the latest cut in bank rate.  It should help further reduce borrowing costs.  The announcement that this cut was to be accompanied by a further round of quantitative easing on a large scale is probably more important and even more welcome.  It should help lower long term interest rates and improve liquidity in the markets.  We are sure the Bank stands ready to take further action if the situation warrants it.

Job Retention Scheme

Under the coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers with a PAYE scheme will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis. This applies to employees who have been asked to stop working, but who are being kept on the pay roll, otherwise described as ‘furloughed workers’.

HMRC will reimburse 80% of their wages, up to £2,500 per month. This is to safeguard workers from being made redundant. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will cover the cost of wages backdated to March 1st and is initially open for 3 months, but will be extended if necessary.

Am I eligible?

All UK-wide employers with a PAYE scheme will be eligible – this includes the public sector, Local Authorities and charities.

How do I access it?

Businesses will need to:

1. Designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your employees of this change – changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation.

2. Once the new online portal is live, submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings (HMRC will set out further details on the information required)

 When can I access it?

HMRC are working urgently to set up a system for reimbursement. We expect the first grants to be paid within weeks, and are aiming to get it done before the end of April.

This is available to businesses in Wales

Rented Housing Sector

£1bn of support for renters, by increasing the generosity of housing benefit and Universal Credit, so that the Local Housing Allowance will cover at least 30% of market rents in your area.

Self Employed

The Budget announced a temporary relaxation of the earnings rules (know as the Minimum Income Floor) for self-employed claimants who are sick or self-isolating according to Government guidance. This has already come into effect. On 20 February the Government extended this to all self employed claimants not just those directly impacted by the virus, ensuring those affected by the economic impact of the outbreak are supported.

If you are self-employed and you have coronavirus or are advised to self-isolate, you can now more easily make a claim for Universal Credit (UC) or new style Employment and Support Allowance. If you are eligible for new style Employment and Support Allowance, it will now be payable from day one of sickness, rather than day eight, if you have coronavirus or are advised to self-isolate.

The self-employed may also benefit from:

• Mortgage support: following discussions with industry, for those in difficulty due to coronavirus, mortgage lenders will offer mortgage holidays of 3 months.
• Loans forbearance: forbearance from lenders, where individuals are having difficulty paying back personal loans or credit.

Safety net for self-employed people too, by suspending the minimum income floor for everyone affected by the economic impacts of coronavirus.

That means every self-employed person can now access, in full, Universal Credit at a rate equivalent to Statutory Sick Pay for employees.

Also the next self-assessment payments will be deferred until January 2021.

This is available to self-employed people in Wales

Statutory Sick Pay Rebate

The Government will bring forward legislation to allow small and medium-sized businesses to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid for staff sickness absence due to coronavirus. This refund will cover up to 2 weeks’ SSP per eligible employee who has been off work because of coronavirus.

Am I eligible?

You will be eligible if:

1. Your business is UK based AND

2. Your business is a small or medium sized and employs fewer than 250 employees as of 28 February 2020.

How do I access it?

A rebate scheme is being developed, further details will be provided in due course.

When can I access it?

UK Government will work with employers over the coming months to set up the repayment mechanism for employers as soon as possible. Existing systems are not designed to facilitate employer refunds for SSP.

This will be available to businesses in Wales.

The UK government intends to work with employers over the coming months to set up the repayment mechanism as soon as possible. Existing systems are not currently designed to facilitate employer refunds for SSP.

Businesses in Wales who would like to find out more about the SSP scheme should contact the HMRC’s dedicated Covid-19 helpline on 0800 0159 559 or monitor the HMRC website for further information.

Time to Pay

All businesses and self-employed people in financial distress, and with outstanding tax liabilities, may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC’s Time To Pay service. These arrangements are agreed on a case-by-case basis and are tailored to individual circumstances and liabilities.

Am I eligible?

You will be eligible if:

1. Your business pays tax to the UK Government

2. Your business has outstanding tax liabilities

How do I access it?

If you’ve missed, or are worried about missing, your next tax payment due to coronavirus, please contact HMRC. You can also call the HMRC helpline for advice on 0800 0159 559.

For more information on late payments, check with HMRC

If you’re worried about a future payment, please call HMRC nearer the time.

This is available to businesses in Wales.

Businesses can contact HMRC’s new dedicated COVID-19 helpline from 11 March 2020 for advice and support. To ensure ongoing support, HMRC have made a further 2,000 experienced call handlers available to support firms and individuals when needed.

If you are concerned about being able to pay your tax due to COVID-19, then call HMRC’s dedicated helpline on 0800 0159 559.

Businesses can access this scheme immediately

Universal Credit standard allowance

Increasing for the next 12 months, by £1,000 a year. For the next twelve months, I’m increasing the Working Tax Credit basic element by the same amount as well. Will benefit over 4 million of our most vulnerable households.

If you are self-employed and want to know if you are eligible for Universal Credit, please visit the gov.uk Universal Credit page

VAT Deferral

UK Government will defer Valued Added Tax (VAT) payments for 3 months.

Am I eligible?

All VAT-registered UK businesses are eligible.

How do I access it?

This is an automatic offer with no applications required. UK Registered businesses will not need to make VAT payments normally due with VAT returns during this period. Taxpayers will be given until the end of the 2020-21 tax year to pay any liabilities that have accumulated during the deferral period. VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by the government as normal.

When can I access it?

The deferral will apply from 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020.

This is available to businesses in Wales

What

Details

UK Gov Announcement

Lines to Take

Business Rates Holiday for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England will not have to pay business rates for the 2020-21 tax year. Businesses that received the retail discount in the 2019-20 tax year will be rebilled by their local authority as soon as possible.

This is available for businesses in England only

Cash Grant for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

If your business is in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector, you will receive a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property.

Businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of under £15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000.

Businesses with a rateable value of between £15,001 and £51,000 will receive a grant of £25,000.

This is available for businesses in England only

Small Business Grant Funding

The Government is providing additional funding for Local Authorities to support small businesses that already pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief (SBRR), rural rate relief (RRR) and tapered relief. This will provide a one-off grant of £10,000 to eligible businesses to help meet their ongoing business costs.

 Am I eligible?

You will be eligible if

1. Your business is based in England* AND

2. You are a small business and already receive SBRR and/or RRR AND

3. You are a business that occupies property

How do I access it?

You do not need to do anything. Your Local Authority will write to you if you are eligible for this grant.

When can I access it?

Local Authorities will write to all eligible businesses with information on how to claim this grant. Any enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of, the reliefs and grants should be directed to the relevant Local Authority. To find your Local Authority, use this search tool.

This is available to businesses in England only