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Given the news over the weekend, we wanted to give you an update on the latest Coronavirus Support Schemes. Whilst these were initial announcements rushed out, due to a leak in the news of a second full lockdown, we would expect more guidance and/or support to follow this or next week. We will of course be in touch to update you, if and when this happens.
Whilst, as always with Government announcements, the devil is in the details and this will only emerge once the dust settles, but we wanted to share the headlines, at least with you, at this stage and will update you further as we hear more.
We will continue to keep you updated across our blogs and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter).
Please note that in line with the latest Government guidance, to ensure both you and our team remain safe and well our offices remain closed. They are now open by appointment only, but our preference is to e-meet now. You can continue to drop records off and there are places at our offices where you can do this safely and securely but do let us know if you are doing this so we can ensure they are picked up and processed as soon as possible.
Please be reassured especially at this time that we are here, and we want to help you in any way we can.
Who is Impacted?
Here is a quick summary of those businesses who need to close and those who can remain open. It is not exhaustive, but hope you find it useful, based on the latest guidance:
Businesses which must close
All non-essential retail, such as:
- Clothing stores;
- Electronics stores;
- Vehicle showrooms;
- Travel agents;
- Betting shops;
- Auction houses;
- Tailors;
- Car washes; and
- Tobacco and vape shops.
Hospitality facilities, such as:
- Restaurants;
- Bars; and
Indoor and outdoor leisure and sports facilities, such as:
- Bowling alleys;
- Leisure centres;
- Water and theme parks;
- Gyms;
- Swimming pools;
- Golf courses and driving ranges;
- Dance studios;
- Stables and riding centres;
- Soft play facilities;
- Climbing walls and climbing centres; and
- Archery and shooting ranges.
Entertainment venues, such as:
- Theatres;
- Concert halls;
- Cinemas;
- Museums and galleries;
- Casinos;
- Adult gaming centres and arcades;
- Bingo halls;
- Botanical gardens; and
- Zoos and other animal attractions
Personal care facilities, such as:
- Hair, beauty and nail salons;
- Tattoo parlours;
- Spas;
- Massage parlours;
- Body and skin piercing services;
- Tanning salons; and
- Non-medical acupuncture.
Places of worship will also be closed unless they are being used for:
- Funerals;
- To broadcast acts of worship;
- Individual prayer;
- Formal childcare or where part of a school;
- Essential voluntary and public services, such as blood donation or food banks; and
- Other exempted activities such as some support groups.
Businesses which can remain open
Essential retail, such as:
- Food shops;
- Supermarkets;
- Garden centres; and
- Other retailers providing essential goods and services.
As well as:
- Hotels, hostels and other accommodation- but only for those who have to travel for work purposes and for a limited number of other exemptions set out in law; and
- Playgrounds
Public services will also remain open such as:
- NHS and medical services like GPs;
- Jobcentre Plus sites;
- Courts; and
- Civil Registrations Offices.
Non-essential retail can remain open for delivery to customers and click-and-collect. Hospitality venues like restaurants, bars and pubs can still provide takeaway and delivery services, although takeaway of alcohol will not be allowed.
Some venues will be allowed to remain open for specific exempt activities, like childcare and support groups. Support groups that are essential to deliver in person can continue with up to 15 participants where formally organised to provide mutual aid, therapy or any other form of support.
More information can be found here.
Further Coronavirus Support Schemes
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (‘CJRS’) Extended
The CJRS, or Furlough scheme, which was due to finish in October, has been extended until the end of November, in line with the Second Lockdown. Here employees will receive 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500. Employers will have the flexibility to bring employees back to work on a part-time basis, or furlough them full time, asking them to cover the National Insurance and employer pension contributions when the employee doesn’t work (which are typically just 5% of the total employment costs), essentially mirroring the scheme from August. As a result, the scheme for November will actually be more generous than the October one.
The scheme will be available for employees who were on an employer’s PAYE payroll filed by 23:59 30th October 2020 and the minimum furlough period is seven consecutive calendar days.
The Job Support Scheme, which was due to come in from the beginning of November, has now been postponed until the end of the extended CJRS.
Business Grants
Businesses required to close in England due to local or national restrictions will be eligible for the following grants:
- For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per month, or £667 per two weeks;
- For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks; and
- For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks.
In addition, business premises forced to close in England are to receive grants worth up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant, with a further £1.1bn given to Local Authorities, distributed on the basis of £20 per head, for one-off payments to enable them to support businesses more broadly. We suggest you get in touch with your local authority to better understand the support which could be available to you. However, at this stage, it is likely they will be awaiting further guidance themselves from the central government, so are unlikely to be able to clarify things for at least a couple of weeks.
Mortgage Holidays
Mortgage payment holidays will no longer end at the end of October. Borrowers who have been impacted by Coronavirus and have not yet had a mortgage payment holiday will be entitled to a six month holiday, and those that have already started a mortgage payment holiday will be able to top up to six months without this being recorded on their credit file. The FCA are expected to announce further information today.
Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (‘SEISS’)
There was no further announcement for this over the weekend, so we wanted to use the opportunity to clarify the next and third grant which will be available online from 14 December, under the same eligibility criteria as before, for those still impacted by Coronavirus for the period November 2020 to January 2021, with a fourth grant coming available for the period February 2021 to April 2021.
For the third grant, the Government will provide a taxable grant covering 40% of average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £3,750 in total. This is an enhancement up from the 20% first announced.
In line with the enhancement of the furlough scheme (back to August levels) we would hope to see this enhanced further too, but we have not heard this yet, so the further enhancement is pure speculation at this point and we will keep you updated if there are any changes here.
Further Support?
The above is a summary of the support available as things stand right now. Further guidance will be provided shortly, and further support may also become available. Either way, we will keep you informed as the information becomes available.
If you know anyone else who might benefit from our updates, please email us their details here, assuming you have their permission to share them with us:
Fraud is always fraud
We are expecting to see a huge surge in checks and investigations owing to the level of fraud which HMRC believe to have occurred during the Coronavirus Support Scheme in particular with Furlough, government-backed loans and SEISS. In the market currently insurance and fee protection policies in our industry are eye-wateringly doubling as an indication of this.
Therefore, only apply for any support if you are eligible and you have been adversely impacted by Coronavirus. Fraud is still fraud, even at times like these.
If you think you may have accidentally overclaimed any of the support schemes, please get in touch with us today for a non-judgemental discussion of your potential options to resolve this.
Software Promotion
Are you interested in using Cloud-Based Accounting Software in your business but don’t currently use one? Or are interested in changing your existing provider? If so, we are offering 50% off if you sign-up to either Quick Books or Xero through us for the rest of the calendar year (Quote: SOFTWARE50).
Some of the many advantages of cloud-based software include:
- Access to your financials anywhere in the world with wi-fi, from your computer, tablet, or phone;
- Better controls of your financial processes at your fingertips;
- Bank feeds to greatly reduce time doing your books, including bank rules to automate bank reconciliations;
- Additional functionality through endless Apps;
- Cost and time-effective solution, which is easy to share and collaborate with;
- High levels of security with no need to back-up; and
- Less paperwork so better for the environment
…to name but a few of the advantages.
Do get in touch with us if you are interested in finding out more, setting up a demo or booking some training. We look forward to talking to you further about this.
Black and White Accounting
This is a difficult time for everyone and we must come together to get through this. Our thoughts are with you, your family and your friends especially at this time.
If there is anything we can do to help you at this difficult time, please do get in touch by contacting Black and White Chartered Certified Accountants, populate the “Got a Question” form on the right, or call us on 0800 140 4644.
