RBKC News, 15.02.2021.

Government announces NEW £20 million SME Brexit Support Fund

Offers up to £2,000 support to help small businesses adjust to new customs procedures. Eligibility: Up to 500 employees, and no more than £100 million annual turnovers, SMEs who trade only with the EU, and are therefore new to importing and exporting processes. For guidance click here.

Innovating for Growth Scale-ups from British Library Business & IP Centre

£10,000 worth of bespoke one-to-one support and group working, all online.  Applications are now open, closing on Wednesday 3 March.  The programme will run from 6 April. More information here. 

Virtual Masterclass from FSB: Referral Marketing

Wednesday 24 February, 11 am – 12 pm. Growing a customer base using The Four Power Principles of Referral Marketing.  Attendees will receive a special “guru report” from Peter Thomson, one of the UK’s leading personal and corporate development strategist and entrepreneur.  Information here

Navigating the funding landscape from Capital Enterprise and Barclays Eagle Labs

The next programme will run from April to July 2021. Programme covering funding options available. Information here

Government Bounce Back Loan – new payment flexibilities

Bounce Back Loan borrowers can tailor their repayment plan. Pay as You Grow repayment flexibilities to extend the length of the loan, make interest-only payments, pause repayments.  Open to applications until 31 March 2021. Apply for a coronavirus Bounce Back Loan.

VAT payments deferred between 20 March and 30 June 2020.

Businesses can pay now or get ready to join the VAT deferral new payment scheme. Find out more here.

NatWest doubles its Female Entrepreneurship Funding to £2bn to help support female-led businesses

The bank also committed to help create an additional 35,000 businesses by the end of 2021. Read more here.

Government Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

• Guidance on ‘What to include when calculating wages’ has been updated to give more information about non-monetary benefits and employer pension contributions under salary sacrifice. 
• Payment of Class 2 National Insurance contributions through a Time to Pay arrangement Guidance has been updated

New Enterprise Allowance – Starting or running your own business

A reminder that up to £2,000 is available to those on Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance who are starting or running their own businesses.  information here.  

Innovating for Growth webinar: Doing business research at home

Thu 18 Feb 2021, 11.00 – 12.15.  From British Library.  Information here.  This webinar aims to help people who are working at home who need the information to help them to plan and deliver business activities without the usual access to the resources offered at Business & IP Centres

RBKC Covid-19 compliance training for businesses

For Covid-19 Secure in Offices and Retail go to https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/ and search for e-learning.

Lastly,

Covid-19 testing and working safely guidance

• National workplace testing is aimed at companies with over 50 employees, to support the establishment of asymptomatic testing sites on company premises. Visit this page- https://www.gov.uk/get-workplace-coronavirus-tests. You can register to order tests if you employ more than 50 people and your employees cannot work from home.

• Those who cannot work from home, including construction workers, can now visit one of three sites to get a rapid community test in RBKC.  Information here. 
• Covid-19 and the private security industry: Frequently Asked Questions have been updated.
• Guidance for people who work in or from vehicles: Guidance has been updated with information on tests and vaccinations.