Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The government has launched its Kickstart Scheme, an incentive for businesses who help at-risk young people get back into work.
It was first announced in the Chancellor’s Summer Statement back in July. We explain what the scheme is, how it works and how to apply.
>See also: Rishi Sunak Summer Statement what it means for small business
What is the Kickstart Scheme?
With the Kickstart Scheme, you can create six-month job placements for young people who are on Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment.
The job placements you create should encourage workers to develop skills and experience that will be useful to them in the jobs they undertake after the placement.
It’s available to businesses in England, Scotland and Wales.
How does the Kickstart Scheme work?
Funding will cover 100 per cent of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week along with associated National Insurance contributions and the employer’s minimum automatic enrolment contributions. A sum of £1,500 per job is also available for set-up costs, support and training.
You’ll get the funding if your application is successful. One thing you should know is that is that applications must be for a minimum of 30 placements. If
Tag Archive for Government Grants
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How to claim your Kickstart Scheme grant
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The government has launched its Kickstart Scheme, an incentive for businesses who help at-risk young people get back into work.
It was first announced in the Chancellor’s Summer Statement back in July. We explain what the scheme is, how it works and how to apply.
>See also: Rishi Sunak Summer Statement what it means for small business
What is the Kickstart Scheme?
With the Kickstart Scheme, you can create six-month job placements for young people who are on Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment.
The job placements you create should encourage workers to develop skills and experience that will be useful to them in the jobs they undertake after the placement.
It’s available to businesses in England, Scotland and Wales.
How does the Kickstart Scheme work?
Funding will cover 100 per cent of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week along with associated National Insurance contributions and the employer’s minimum automatic enrolment contributions. A sum of £1,500 per job is also available for set-up costs, support and training.
You’ll get the funding if your application is successful. One thing you should know is that is that applications must be for a minimum of 30 placements. If
Hot Business News Today
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme re-opens
by Stephanie Spicer • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Stephanie Spicer on Small Business
The government has re-opened the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) allowing claimants to apply for a government grant of up to £6,750. The scheme was established to help those self employed workers whose income was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
To date over 2.7 million people have benefitted from the scheme, receiving £7.8bn. For the first grant, self-employed individuals in Scotland have made 155,000 claims totalling £449m; in Wales 108,000 claims for £289m have been made and in Northern Ireland 76,000 claims for £216m have been submitted. In England, 2.2 million claims were made totalling £6.4bn.
The second stage of the scheme means that those eligible will now be able to receive a second and final grant worth 70% of their average monthly trading profits, with the money set to land in their bank accounts within six working days of making a claim. Individuals must earn at least half of their income from self- employment and annual trading profits must not exceed £50,000.
Anyone whose self-employed business has been adversely affected by coronavirus since 14 July is eligible for the scheme.
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer said: “Our self-employment income support scheme has already helped
Hot Business News Today
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme re-opens
by Stephanie Spicer • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Stephanie Spicer on Small Business
The government has re-opened the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) allowing claimants to apply for a government grant of up to £6,750. The scheme was established to help those self employed workers whose income was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
To date over 2.7 million people have benefitted from the scheme, receiving £7.8bn. For the first grant, self-employed individuals in Scotland have made 155,000 claims totalling £449m; in Wales 108,000 claims for £289m have been made and in Northern Ireland 76,000 claims for £216m have been submitted. In England, 2.2 million claims were made totalling £6.4bn.
The second stage of the scheme means that those eligible will now be able to receive a second and final grant worth 70% of their average monthly trading profits, with the money set to land in their bank accounts within six working days of making a claim. Individuals must earn at least half of their income from self- employment and annual trading profits must not exceed £50,000.
Anyone whose self-employed business has been adversely affected by coronavirus since 14 July is eligible for the scheme.
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer said: “Our self-employment income support scheme has already helped
Hot Business News Today
Shops, gyms and restaurants call for £2bn property bounceback grant
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Shops, gyms, restaurants and pubs have called for the Government to split the cost of unpaid rent with commercial landlords.
Trade associations including the UKHospitality, ukactive and the British Retail Consortium have issued a joint call for the Government to introduce a Property Bounceback Grant.
The Property Bounceback Grant would cost an estimated £2bn, yet it would save 375,000 jobs and more than pay for itself nearly fourfold in the first year alone.
>See also: Where to find your £5,000 small business technology grant
Analysis commissioned by the trade bodies found that if Government support covered 50 per cent of unpaid rents across the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors for only six months, it would cost £1.75bn.
However, the total return to the Treasury in terms of tax revenue from economic activity would be almost £7bn, and 375,000 jobs would be saved – a return on investment of nearly 400 per cent.
Without financial support from the Government, warn the trade bodies, both tenants and landlords face the very real risk of business failure, hundreds of thousands of job losses, and long-lasting damage to high streets across the UK.
>See also: How to make a successful business interruption insurance claim
Retail
Hot Business News Today
Shops, gyms and restaurants call for £2bn property bounceback grant
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Shops, gyms, restaurants and pubs have called for the Government to split the cost of unpaid rent with commercial landlords.
Trade associations including the UKHospitality, ukactive and the British Retail Consortium have issued a joint call for the Government to introduce a Property Bounceback Grant.
The Property Bounceback Grant would cost an estimated £2bn, yet it would save 375,000 jobs and more than pay for itself nearly fourfold in the first year alone.
>See also: Where to find your £5,000 small business technology grant
Analysis commissioned by the trade bodies found that if Government support covered 50 per cent of unpaid rents across the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors for only six months, it would cost £1.75bn.
However, the total return to the Treasury in terms of tax revenue from economic activity would be almost £7bn, and 375,000 jobs would be saved – a return on investment of nearly 400 per cent.
Without financial support from the Government, warn the trade bodies, both tenants and landlords face the very real risk of business failure, hundreds of thousands of job losses, and long-lasting damage to high streets across the UK.
>See also: How to make a successful business interruption insurance claim
Retail
Hot Business News Today
Where to find your £5,000 small business technology grant
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Government has announced a new £20m IT funding package to help small businesses get through the coronavirus pandemic.
Small and medium-sized businesses can access a small business technology grant between £1,000 and £5,000 to spend on new equipment and IT and professional advice.
The small business technology grant can be spent on the following:
Accountants
Financial
Human resources
IT and digital
Legal
Or it can be used to buy minor equipment to adapt or adopt new technology in order to carry on trading or diversify during the COVID-19 pandemic.
>See also: You have just one month to claim up to £1.6bn in unspent grants
And the cash could also be used to stage events providing guidance to businesses responding to coronavirus.
Ironically, given the Government’s pro-Brexit stance, the money is coming through the last hurrah of the European Regional Development Fund, the EU fund which supports poorer regions.
The £20m worth of technology and support grants are being administered by the Government’s 38 regional growth hubs.
>See also: Rishi Sunak gives small businesses £2000 grants for young trainees
You can find the list of growth hubs where you apply for the new £1,000 to £5,000 small business technology grants here.
Regional growth minister Simon Clarke said: “We
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You have just one month to claim up to £1.6bn in unspent grants
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small businesses have until the end of August to claim up to £1.6bn in unspent grants through the Government’s COVID-19 emergency help schemes.
Business secretary Alok Sharma has written to local authorities asking them to return £1.6bn in currently unspent grants issued through either the £25,000 retail, leisure and hospitality scheme or the separate £10,000 scheme for firms eligible for small business rates relief by Friday, August 28.
This is despite thousands of businesses that have applied for grants still waiting for the money to hit their accounts.
>See also: How to get the government’s £10,000 cash grant for small businesses
Two schemes worth £12.4bn were set up in March to provide payments through the business rates system as Britain went into lockdown.
Shops, hotels, restaurants and other leisure businesses whose premises’ rateable value – which determines how much commercial property tax they pay – is between £15,000 and £51,000, are eligible for a £25,000 grant through the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund.
Separately, any business qualifying for small business rate relief or rural rates relief is eligible for a grant of £10,000 through the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF), as is any business in the retail, leisure
Hot Business News Today
Where to find your £5,000 small business technology grant
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Government has announced a new £20m IT funding package to help small businesses get through the coronavirus pandemic.
Small and medium-sized businesses can access a small business technology grant between £1,000 and £5,000 to spend on new equipment and IT and professional advice.
The small business technology grant can be spent on the following:
Accountants
Financial
Human resources
IT and digital
Legal
Or it can be used to buy minor equipment to adapt or adopt new technology in order to carry on trading or diversify during the COVID-19 pandemic.
>See also: You have just one month to claim up to £1.6bn in unspent grants
And the cash could also be used to stage events providing guidance to businesses responding to coronavirus.
Ironically, given the Government’s pro-Brexit stance, the money is coming through the last hurrah of the European Regional Development Fund, the EU fund which supports poorer regions.
The £20m worth of technology and support grants are being administered by the Government’s 38 regional growth hubs.
>See also: Rishi Sunak gives small businesses £2000 grants for young trainees
You can find the list of growth hubs where you apply for the new £1,000 to £5,000 small business technology grants here.
Regional growth minister Simon Clarke said: “We
Hot Business News Today
Insurer using small business Covid grants to justify cutting payouts
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
NFU Mutual, the insurance company, is using small business Covid grants already received by business owners as a pretext to cutting coronavirus payouts.
The insurer is paying less to struggling small businesses in the hospitality sector because it says they have received small business Covid grants.
The Government has paid more than £10bn to almost 900,000 small businesses in need in the form of one-off grants of up to £10,000, paid out by local authorities.
NFU Mutual said deductions made to reflect state aid are only applied to loss-of-profit claims, not to those made for loss of income. Determining a loss-of-profit claim settlement, it said, includes the need to consider “all taxable income”, including Government grants, as well as any other forms of compensation.
However, the Professional Association of Self Caterers UK (PASC) has branded the practice “highly immoral” and suggests NFU Mutual is using it to boost its own profits.
PASC UK executive chairman Alistair Handyside told insurance trade magazine NS Insurance that insurers should honour their contracts and not behave “so poorly”.
Handyside said: “Overwhelmingly our members are small, family-run, rural and coastal businesses for whom the Small Business Grant Fund is a critical lifeline intended to