Monthly Archives: November 2020

Hot Business News Today

Rishi Sunak ignores small business and self-employed in Spending Review

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Rishi Sunak has mostly ignored small business hit by the pandemic and the struggling self-employed in today’s Spending Review.
The chancellor shrugged off calls for him to cut national insurance and help those self-employed such as company directors who have found themselves excluded from government Covid support.
He did however freeze any increase in business rates when they kick back in again in April. The Treasury estimates that this move will save businesses £575m over the next five years.
Indeed, there was more help for the employee than the employer, as Mr Sunak increased the National Living Wage to £8.91 per hour for those aged over 23 and announced a Restart Scheme to help the newly unemployed.
Jonathan Geldart, director general of the Institute of Directors, welcomes the Restart Scheme but said the chancellor missed a trick by not combining the scheme with a cut to employers’ NI contributions.
>See also: Rishi Sunak urged to help self-employed company directors
Nigel Morris, employment tax director at MHA MacIntyre Hudson, said that Sunak failed to deliver for businesses.
Morris said: “More help for businesses is essential to protect our economy, yet we saw no major support made available for them, for example

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Liverpool launches £9.5m grant fund for ‘excluded’ self-employed

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Liverpool has launched a £9.5m grant fund to specifically help the self-employed in hospitality and leisure excluded from government Covid support.
This includes support for the self-employed, sole traders or the home-based and their supply chains.
The Liverpool self-employed grant fund is the first in England specifically aimed at the “excluded and forgotten” from national support schemes such as the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Businesses based in Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral are eligible for support from the new £9.5m fund.
Last week, Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram wrote to chancellor Rishi Sunak alongside London mayor Sadiq Khan and Manchester mayor Andy Burnham urging him to do something for the 3m self-employed who have found themselves excluded from national support.
It is estimated that there are 3m self-employed excluded from government Covid-19 business support.
Forgotten Limited, the pressure group for small limited company directors affected by the pandemic, said that 70 per cent of its members had not received any government support since the onset of the pandemic in March. Even if they make it to Christmas, 93 per cent doubted their small limited companies would still be trading by Easter.
Mr Rotheram said: “This latest round of

Read more...