News

• HMRC urges businesses to prepare for January customs changes

  Some of the temporary Customs and VAT easements introduced on 1 January 2021 for goods moving between Great Britain and the EU will be removed on 1 January 2022.

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• Market and Marquee Covid Measures to be Made Permanent

  During the pandemic measures were brought in to ensure that hospitality businesses no longer needed planning permission to put up marquees on their land and councils no longer needed planning permission to hold an outdoor market.
  
  
  Following a public consultation the government has announced that these measures will be permanent in a bid to draw more people to high streets and town centres and boost local businesses.
  
  Further information:
  The permitted development rights (PDR) introduced in 2020 to 2021 that are now being made permanent. These measures will apply to England.
  
  1. The Right for markets to be held by or on behalf of local councils
  
  Originally introduced in June 2020, this PDR allowed markets to be held by or on behalf of local councils for an unlimited amount of days, including the provision of moveable structures related to this use.
  
  This measure, which supported the use of outdoor public spaces and the reopening of the high street, will now be made permanent.
  
  The right excludes markets on sites designated as Scheduled Monuments and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
  
  2. Rights for moveable structures in the grounds of pubs, cafes, restaurants and historic visitor attractions
  Pubs, cafes and restaurants will be able to erect a moveable structure for an unlimited number of days without the need for a planning application.
  
  Listed pubs, restaurants, cafes and historic visitor attractions will be able to erect a moveable structure for 120 days in a 12-month period, subject to prior approval by the local council.
  
  This will ensure we protect historic assets whilst also making best use of their outdoor spaces to operate in.
  These rights exclude markets on sites designated as Scheduled Monuments.
  
  Additional measures apply to all moveable structures to minimise impacts on surrounding communities, including limits to size, height and distance to residential boundaries.
  
  These measures, introduced through PDRs, are separate to changes to pavement licenses introduced last year. Pavement licenses allow hospitality businesses to place furniture, such as tables and chairs, on the pavement outside their premises the PDR for movable structures allows businesses to install marquees in gardens or outside areas on their own land.

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• £1 billion in support for businesses most impacted by Omicron across the UK from the Treasury

  The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced a package of support for businesses impacted by the increase in cases from the Omicron variant.
  
  • Businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in England will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises which will be administered by local authorities.
  
  • More than £100 million discretionary funding will be made available for local authorities to support other businesses through the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG).
  
  • 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
  
  Full details of Funding:
  
  • £683 million for targeted grants for hospitality and leisure businesses in England
  
  • £102 million top-up for the Additional Restrictions Grant
  
  • £30 million for Culture Recovery Fund
  
  • £154 million of Barnett funding covering all three above
  
  • Funding for the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate scheme will be additional to these amounts
  
  Prime Minister, Boris Johnson said:
  
  With the surge in Omicron cases, people are rightly exercising more caution as they go about their lives, which is impacting our hospitality, leisure and cultural sectors at what is typically the busiest time of the year.
  That’s why we’re taking immediate action to help with an extra £1 billion in grants to these industries and reintroducing our Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme.
  I urge people across the country to please get boosted now to secure vital protection for yourselves, your loved ones and your communities.
  Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said:
  We recognise that the spread of the Omicron variant means businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors are facing huge uncertainty, at a crucial time.
  So we’re stepping in with £1 billion of support, including a new grant scheme, the reintroduction of the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme and further funding released through the Culture Recovery Fund.
  Ultimately the best thing we can do to support businesses is to get the virus under control, so I urge everyone to Get Boosted Now.

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• Community Solar Accelerator will enable SMEs to reduce CO2 emissions by match funded grants of up to £25,000

  Community Solar Accelerator is a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funded, SME support project, delivered by Brighton Energy Co-op.
  
  The project aims to support the shift towards a low carbon economy in the Coast to Capital region and beyond, by promoting solar PV & electric vehicle charging use in SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)
  
  Community Solar Accelerator will enable SMEs to reduce CO2 emissions by match funded grants of up to £25,000 towards either:
  
  Solar PV arrays
  Solar PV arrays & electric vehicle charging points
  Grants are available at up to 40% of total eligible costs and are paid once the work is done and paid for. Match funding of 60% of the project cost will come from the SME and loans, investments, savings and company reserves can be used. However, please note your time can’t be included as match funding.
  
  The Community Solar Accelerator programme will run until 30th June 2023.
  
  To be eligible for support, you just have to meet the following criteria:
  
  - You must be a small or medium enterprise (SME). This includes:
  - Employing 250 (FTE) employees or less
  - Having an annual turnover of £44M or less and an annual balance sheet of £38M or less
  
  - If another firm owns more than a quarter of your company, they must meet the above criteria
  Your organisation must not have received more than approximately £180,000 of state aid in the last three years
  
  Community Solar Accelerator grants are predominantly for organisations registered and operating in the Coast to Capital LEP area, though organisations from more-developed regions of England are eligible
  
  If you would like to find out if your organisations is eligible, please complete the Expression of Interest at this link.
  
  Community Solar Accelerator is funded by the European Regional Development Fund 2014 – 2020.

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• SMEs: A guide to working with government

  This guide provides advice for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) on how to bid for and win government contracts.

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