RBKC News
Tier 2 Local Restrictions Support Grant.
The section that will hold information about these grants is now up on the Council’s Covid-19 business portal ready to be updated once we have full details and the applications are open. See further information in the Government and Partner News section below
RBKC commercial units available for let at BASELINE STUDIOS.
See flyer/marketing info here
Earl’s Court entrepreneurs and businesses roll out the red carpet for their Film Festival and Food Festival.
Available at home @earlscourtfilmfest and You Tube, whilst dining on the best that the area has to offer during The Earls Court Food Festival running until the 16th of November, enjoy delicious global dishes for under £10
North Kensington Connected Business Forum.
Next meeting’s theme is “Listening, Networking, Progressing. Together We Are Stronger” – Thursday 12 November 2020 from 4.30pm until 6pm. If you would like to attend, please register as a member here.
RBKC Environmental Health – courses available to help businesses prevent infection.
Including ‘Infection Prevention and Control + New COVID-19 Module’. See here. Also updates on our Environmental Health Training Service home page about taught courses as and when the risks associated with COVID-19 subside here
PBC – Upcoming Events & Training Courses:
Meet the Experts. PBC is providing a two-day online event with experienced professionals. For pre-starts, start-ups or existing businesses there will be interesting business talks / presentations (18th November), and an opportunity to get all the answers to your questions in one-to-one online sessions (19th November). Register on the PBC website or call on 020 7460 5050 / 020 7460 5056 to book your preferred time slot. See attached. As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 16-22, 2020), plus Rocket Launch Your Business 2 – Funded Project by RBKC November 2020 and also Start Your Own Fashion Business From Scratch by Victoria Grant – December 2020
Trading Standards street trader FAQs.
The Council’s Trading Standards team have come up with advice for street traders who wish to operate safely during the pandemic, presented in FAQ format.
Businesses promote themselves on dscvr
Launching next month in Portobello Road, Golborne Road and the surrounding ‘market streets’ businesses are providing enticements for dscvr’s ‘shop’, ‘eat’ and ‘do’ buttons, that will attract customers to pay a visit – contact portobello@dscvr-app.com for details.
Special photo package available for local businesses
Jason Garcia, a local photographer, is offering market area businesses a special package. Half day (4 hours) of photography, providing a library with 30 days’ worth of social media/web content for £150. For more information or to book please contact info@jasongarcia.co.uk and quote VisitPortobelloOffer in your message to get the deal.
Kickstart – do you have a job placement for a 16-24 year old?
£1500 for each participant to provide necessary support and training, you need to offer new, high quality job placements for a minimum of 6 months and at least 25 hours per week. If you would like to participate in the scheme please email albena.karameros@rbkc.gov.uk.
Apply now for a Pavement License for outdoor dining
Pavement Licences allow businesses to place furniture outside the premises on pavements or closed streets, current Seasonal Highways licences run out on Saturday 31 October, apply for the Pavement Licence instead. The licence is valid until September 2021.
Exhibition Road Festival – Inspiration for entrepreneurs.
Free online events from the Great Exhibition Road Festival for November. Science of stem cells in ‘Only Connect’. Artificial Intelligence in ‘Translators: Robots in disguise’.
‘Meet the Funder’ – John Lyon’s Charity.
Monday 10 November 2020, 12:00pm – 1:00pm. Online 30-minute presentation from the funder, with a 30-minute Q&A. This meeting is for social enterprises, local voluntary and community organisations, not open to members of the public. Go here.
Success for local business through Supply Chain project
Halfway through the two-year RBKC Supply Chain project, over 120 businesses in the borough have been engaged, 17 contract tenders have been supported and one contract win has just been celebrated! A North Kensington-based business just secured a contract on a local development – maybe the next win could be yours. Find out more about getting involved and how your business could benefit here.
Government and Partner News
New support for jobs and workers
The Government announced a new package of support for jobs and workers affected by Covid restrictions – details below.
- Local Restrictions Support Scheme Grants (For more information see the Business Grants Factsheet). The Government has announced additional funding to be provided to businesses in Tier 2 areas through the Local Restrictions Support Scheme in the form of grants, delivered through the Council. We are waiting for the full guidance from Government about this new grant and will provide the details on the Covid-19 business portal as soon as it is available.
- Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant Extension (more information, on HMRC website) The extension will last for six months, from November 2020 to April 2021. Grants will be paid in two lump sum instalments each covering a three-month period. The first grant will cover a three-month period from 1 November 2020 until 31 January 2021. The Government will provide a taxable grant covering doubled from 20% to 40% of profits in the last three tax years, with a £50,000 cap, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £3,750 in total. To qualify, there needs to be intent to trade and the business will need to declare that it has reduced demand from 1 November 2020. This replaces the previous ‘adversely affected’ criteria.
- Universal Credit – Eligibility. Universal Credit is available if: you’re on a low income or out of work. you’re 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you’re 16 to 17), you’re under State Pension age (or your partner is), you and your partner have £16,000 or less in savings between you, you live in the UK. Go here
- Job Support Scheme (For detailed information go here) – set to replace furlough in November. Under the revised scheme, employers will pay less and staff can work fewer hours before they qualify. At the same time, the taxpayer subsidy has been doubled. Instead of a minimum requirement of paying 55% of wages for a third of hours, as announced last month at the launch of the Winter Economic Plan, employers will have to pay for a minimum of 20% of usual hours worked, and 5% of hours not worked. The government will now fund 62% of the wages for hours not worked. This more than doubles the maximum payment to £1,541.75 a month. In the most generous case, the taxpayer will now go from funding 22% of wages to just under half. The scheme will, as before, be open to all small businesses and larger businesses that can show an impact on revenues. It is aimed at addressing the gap in support for businesses in tier two restrictions, such as London and Birmingham, but is not explicitly tied to that status, and is available across the UK.
- Test and Trace Support Payment scheme: claiming financial support: If you have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace and told to self-isolate on or after 28 September 2020, you’re under a legal obligation to do so, and could be eligible for a £500 Test and Trace Support Payment. This guidance sets out who can claim support and explains how to apply.
New hotline launched to report COVID fraudsters:
A new hotline has been launched to stop fraudsters illegally targeting COVID stimulus schemes. In an initiative between government and the independent charity Crimestoppers, the public can now call a new COVID Fraud Hotline (0800 587 5030) anonymously and free of charge to report suspected fraudulent activity.
Advice to hospitality venues
The trade body for the hospitality sector, UK Hospitality, has a helpful page of FAQs for venues on the new guidance around restrictions. They have also provided an email address for businesses who have any additional questions: cv19@ukhospitality.org.uk
Maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors to support NHS Test and Trace:
Guidance has been updated to add further clarification on the venues in scope of the policy. Guidance has also been added for hospitality venues on how to verify whether an individual has checked in on the NHS COVID-19 app.
Start-up Day at the Business & IP Centre at British Library.
Thursday 19 November. Taking place during Global Entrepreneurship Week. British Library’s biggest day of the year is back for 2020. See attached. Start-up Day taking place fully online. Thu 19 Nov 2020, 09:30 – 16:45. Free. Check out all the events here. For those wondering if now is a good time to start up – everything you need to feel confident taking the plunge at Start-up Day. In partnership with Santander.
IPO and EEN webinar: Collaborating for growth and success
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) webinar series, ‘Collaborating for growth and success’ in partnership with Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). Date: Tuesday 3 November 2020. Time: 11:00 – 12:00 pm. Register here.
Updates from Companies House
File online to avoid delays. Companies House documents you can file online. Changes ahead: Act now. The UK has left the EU and new rules for business with the EU start in January 2021. Use the transition checker tool Extension of insolvency measures, Some measures have been extended to relieve pressure on businesses dealing with coronavirus. Find out more about the extension of the measures. Join webinar to help you choose the right legal structure for your business.
And lastly,
Would you like to join the Council’s Economic Development Team at the Council?
We have a live position for an Apprenticeship co-ordinator, the closing deadline is 1 November.