Welcome to the latest edition of our South and Vale Business Support newsletter!
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses have been subject to an abundance of important new information with regular updates on restrictions, government guidance and support schemes published on a regular basis.
We recognise it's not always easy for businesses to keep up to date with every new development, so to help, SVBS have created a new webpage called 'This week's headlines'. We'll update this page every week to bring the most important updates to local businesses.
It was announced on 29 October that Oxford City will be moving to Tier 2 (High Alert) for COVID-19. The change will take effect at 00.01 on Saturday 31 October.
We must stress, that at this stage, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse districts are NOT being placed into Tier 2, and will remain in Tier 1 (Medium Alert) until further notice. This means that for the moment, Local Restrictions Support Grant funding is not yet available for businesses based in our districts.
If South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse do move into higher tier restrictions in the future, then further grant funding will be available for some businesses based in the area. We will publish relevant details in the SVBS newsletter if and when this becomes relevant.
In the meantime, businesses can now use a Postcode Checker to find out the coronavirus restrictions in their local area. You may wish to familiarise yourself with restrictions in the higher tiers, and consider compiling a contingency plan for your business in the event of higher tier local restrictions being implemented.
If your business has been legally required to close a a direct result of coronavirus restrictions, or is facing decreased demand over the winter period, then you may be able to benefit from government support to help retain your employees via the updated Job Support Scheme (JSS).
To help employers understand the new schemes, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is hosting two free webinars on the latest updates. The webinars provide an overview of the changes to the scheme, how employers will be affected, key dates and support available. You can register here.
Businesses need to understand how changes will affect them and prepare accordingly to ensure they can continue trading from January 2021. Advice on what actions businesses should take is available on gov.uk/transition.
If a business wants to find out what changes will apply to them, they should use the checker tool for tailored advice. They can do this by:
