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More than 70 businesses have offered their support to a campaign help secure supplies of Personal Protective Equipment for workers in vital services.
The appeal, which was launched by councils and organisations across Norfolk last week (Wednesday 8th), encourages businesses to provide details of PPE which they have available in stock or their capacity or capability to produce equipment.
Seventy four responses have already been logged through the central database since the launch. That adds to many firms who had already contacted New Anglia LEP and other partners to offer support, taking the total number of active leads for PPE to over 200.
A bulk delivery of PPE has been received from Government, but this appeal to businesses should ensure additional stocks to make sure front line workers have the right PPE available for a sustained period.
Trevor Holden, Head of the Tactical Coordination Group, that is overseeing the delivery of the multi-agency response across Norfolk, said:
“The response from our business community has been great and on behalf of all local agencies, I would like to thank everyone who has contacted us and offered support. It really shows people coming together to help protect our front line workers and save lives.
“Producing additional PPE locally, and using stock which is unused in businesses which might currently be closed, will mean we can continue to have stocks available for the range of front line staff who are keeping out essential services running.”
“This campaign will continue to run, so if you have stock of PPE – no matter how small – or can produce equipment, please make sure you get in touch.”
The products being offered and produced include hand sanitiser, face visors, face masks, coveralls, aprons and protective suits.
Chris Starkie, Chief Executive of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said:
“It is great that so many companies have come forward to support this appeal already, and we’re sure there are many more who will get involved.
“We understand that this is a very challenging time for many businesses and their staff. The New Anglia Growth Hub can offer free business support, including information about the new Government grants and schemes, to any business in Norfolk or Suffolk as well as advice on how your business can help produce PPE.”
If your business can help, please complete the simple contact form at https://newanglia.co.uk/data-capture-for-ppe-supply-during-covid/
As the Coronavirus continues to impact the day-to-day operations of businesses across our region, Norfolk Chambers stand ready to support you. Working with the British Chambers of Commerce, we need to hear from you about how your business is coping.
The results from last week’s Tracker have now been published, but given the rapid pace of developments, we now need to understand the immediate short terms impacts, as well as some of the more medium to long term impacts on your business. We are in constant contact with the UK Government and Bank of England as business support packages have been developed.
In this 2-3 minute poll: – Covid-19 Business Tracker – please tell us the immediate business conditions you are facing and whether your business is aware of or has used the recently announced support packages from government. Your input is essential to our work on behalf of your business. We intend to seek your views over the next few weeks to track progress. As a business leader, your views have never been more important.
Results from the third BCC Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker reveal that the majority of businesses responding to the survey have now furloughed a proportion of their workforce, and are awaiting funds from the Government’s Job Retention Scheme to enable them to pay staff.
The leading business organisation’s weekly tracker poll, which serves as a barometer of the pandemic’s impact on businesses and the effectiveness of government support measures, received 701 responses, including those from Norfolk, and is the largest independent survey of its kind in the UK. The third tranche of polling was conducted from 8-10 April.
Businesses furloughing employees
Last week’s tracker found that 71% of respondents said they intended to furlough staff at some point. This week, the tracker confirms that 66 per cent of firms had now furloughed a proportion of their staff in anticipation of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme going live and making payments. 31% said they have furloughed between 75% to 100% of their workforce.
Last week HMRC confirmed the scheme would be open to applications during the week of 20 April, leaving only a short time for funds to start to reach cash-strapped businesses before April’s payroll is processed.
Cash flow concerns
Business’ cash flow, an important indicator of overall economic health, remains an urgent concern with more than half of firms reporting cash in reserve of three months or less. The percentage of firms reporting less than a month’s worth of cash in reserve (17%) and 1 to 3 months’ cash in reserve (36%) has remained broadly unchanged week-to-week, but remains concerningly high.
The percentage of firms reporting no cash in reserve remained at 6% compared to last week, as did the proportion of firms with 12 months’ cash in reserve (also 6%).
Access to government support schemes
The slow start in firms successfully accessing government support schemes has continued. 2% of respondents reported they had successfully accessed the CBILS this week (double last week’s 1% figure), with 9% of respondents unsuccessful. Of those who were unsuccessful, slow or no response from lenders was cited as the main reason. This suggests firms could still be having difficulty accessing the support through banks, despite the announcements on 2nd April designed to simplify and speed up the CBILS process.
15% of respondents said they had successfully accessed grants for small businesses, a rise of 7% on the previous week. 12% of respondents said they were unsuccessful in accessing these grants. The overwhelming majority of those who were unsuccessful reported they did not meet the criteria.
Commenting on the results, BCC Director General Dr Adam Marshall said:
“Businesses on the frontline need cash to start flowing from support schemes fast. With April’s payday coming up, we are fast approaching a crunch point, and both the furlough scheme and CBILS facilities need to be accelerated.
“While we’ve seen a high number of firms furloughing staff in anticipation of the Job Retention Scheme coming online, it is still unclear whether they will start receiving funds before their payroll date, which could exacerbate the cash crisis many businesses are facing.
“It is essential that the Job Retention Scheme makes payments to businesses as soon as possible. Any delay could mean more livelihoods under threat, more business failures, and more hardship in our communities.”
The Chief Executive of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Jim Harra, has announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for furloughed workers is due to open on 20th April 2020 for applications.
The CJRS was announced on 20th March 2020 and is due to back date payments to the beginning of March but has not yet opened for applications, despite the fact that many companies have been furloughing staff for weeks already.
Jim Harra told MPs on the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee that he was confident the scheme would be able to handle the anticipated surge in applications when it opens on 20th April 2020. Mr Harra also added that he expected the scheme to make ‘payments later this month, before the 30th April’.
Commenting on the announcement, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy for Norfolk Chambers said:
“The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was welcomed by the Norfolk business community and will undoubtedly protect jobs, but we need HMRC to meet their commitment of making payments before the end of April . As our recent business poll identified, 77% of local firms said cash flow was their number one concern and many companies will not have the cash to pay staff for another month, without access to the Government’s furlough payments.”
Public Health England has published new guidance on social distancing in the workplace and updates to the guidance to employers and businesses about Coronavirus
An appeal has been launched to urge businesses and communities across Norfolk to help secure supplies of Personal Protective Equipment for workers in vital services.
Councils and organisations across the county, including Norfolk Chambers, are backing the drive to ensure stocks of PPE are available in the coming weeks and months.
Whilst the Government has significantly increased deliveries of PPE into Norfolk – local businesses can still play an important role.
With many small businesses currently closed, any PPE equipment such as masks, disposable gloves, aprons, eye googles, overshoes and hand sanitising gel can be used for the front line staff who are caring for our most vulnerable residents and keeping our vital services operating.
A number of firms have already come forward to offer PPE stock, or to use their facilities and staff to produce the items which are required.
Trevor Holden, Head of the Tactical Coordination Group, that is overseeing the delivery of the multi-agency response across Norfolk, said:
“The Government has supplied a significant amount of PPE in recent days. While we welcome this, we must also take local action to ensure we continue to have stocks to cover the wide range of front line staff that require it to keep our essential services running in these unprecedented times.
“PPE comes in a variety of types, for different uses, so we would ask that any business that has PPE that it would like to offer to contact New Anglia LEP on the details below.”
Over recent weeks, technicians at the University of East Anglia have been making up to 170 litres of hand sanitiser gel a day and Norwich-based gin distillery Bullards is also producing sanitising gel. Loddon engineering company Panel Graphic has recently started using its production line which usually produces display enhancement windows to make face visors for front line workers.
Chris Starkie, Chief Executive of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said:
“Our team has already spoken to dozens of companies, large and small, which have capacity and capability to produce equipment or stock which they no longer require. It has been great to see the business community come together in this way and I’ve no doubt that our local firms will continue to do all they can to support this appeal.
“We understand that this is a very challenging time for many businesses and their staff. The New Anglia Growth Hub can offer free business support, including information about the new Government grants and schemes, to any business in Norfolk or Suffolk as well as advice on how your business can help produce PPE.”
If your business can help, please complete the simple contact form at: https://newanglia.co.uk/data-capture-for-ppe-supply-during-covid/
Results from the second BCC Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker reveal that most businesses have not yet successfully accessed the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the grants for small businesses.
The leading business organisation’s weekly tracker poll, which serves as a barometer of pandemic’s impact on businesses and the effectiveness of government support measures, received more than 1,000 responses and is the largest independent survey of its kind in the UK.
The second set of polling was conducted from 1-3 April and follows further announcements made by the government to strengthen CBILS and expand support to mid-sized firms.
Access to government support schemes
Businesses continue to report a high level of awareness of the government’s support schemes:
However, the Tracker suggests that awareness is not translating into firms successfully accessing these schemes.
Just 1% of respondents had successfully accessed the CBILS last week, with 8% of respondents unsuccessful. The complexity of the application process and a slow or lack of response from the relevant body were cited as reasons for those who were unsuccessful.
It is hoped that the government’s announcements made on 2 April intended to improve access to the scheme will see success rates increase in future weeks.
7% respondents were currently using grants for small businesses, but 14% had been unsuccessful. When asked about the reasons they were unsuccessful:
Cash flow concerns
Business’ cash flow, an important indicator of overall economic health, remains an urgent concern. The percentage of firms reporting less than a month’s worth of cash in reserve (16%) and 1 to 3 months’ cash in reserve (41%) has remained broadly unchanged from the previous week.
Of most concern, the percentage of firms reporting no cash in reserve was 6%. B2C firms were more likely to report that they had no cash reserves (10%) compared to B2B firms and manufacturers (both 4%).
The proportion of respondents reporting over 12 months’ cash in reserve remains at 5% despite a significant increase in the number of respondents.
Businesses furloughing employees
37% of respondents said they were planning to furlough between 75% to 100% of their workforce over the next week, up from 32% last week.
The percentage of firms intending to furlough 100% of their staff increased from 17% in our first week’s results to 20% this week.
Commenting on the results, BCC Director General Dr Adam Marshall said:
“Our latest data shows that many businesses face a cliff-edge scenario, either at the end of this month or over the course of the next quarter.
“We’ve seen a big jump in the number of firms furloughing staff, and many are now starting to apply for access to government loan and grant schemes to keep themselves afloat. Yet our research suggests that support is only starting to reach firms on the ground.
“We are pleased that the Chancellor is listening and responding to our calls to strengthen the existing support. Improvements to the CBILS scheme should help more businesses get access to the cash they need over the coming days and weeks. This could be the difference between survival and insolvency for many firms.
“It’s vital that governments across the UK continue to work closely with business over the coming days. Every minute counts, and governments, local authorities and banks must do everything in their power to ensure support gets to firms on the front line more quickly.”
Norfolk Chambers recently surveyed the local business community to understand what challenges they were facing and the kind of support that the Chambers could offer them. With well over 100 businesses responding from a cross-section of the community, the results highlighted that 77% of businesses in our region cited cashflow as their number one challenge at present.
With the recent heavy impact of the Corona Virus on our business community, many businesses have had to ask staff to either work from home, furlough them, or in some instances make them redundant. The results represented firms employing over 2,200 people between them. When asked where their staff currently where, as a result of Covid-19, they advised that 43% were still operating within the workplace – these being key workers and predominantly manufacturers. 23% were working from home, with a further 32% furloughed and just 2% had had to make staff redundant.
Other challenges being faced by the business community were:
Commenting on the current crisis being faced by Norfolk’s business community, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy for Norfolk Chambers said:
“We are working hard, in conjunction with the UK-wide Chamber network to ensure that the support mechanisms the government has put in place actually reach those on the ground who need it the most.
“We continue to lobby Westminster to better understand the challenges being faced by business on a daily basis and urge them to close the obvious gaps, such as parity for Owner/Directors.
“With regard to CIBLS, more needs to be done by our banks. Whilst we understand the logistical challenges they are facing, the financial need for many firms is urgent and not something that can wait to be delivered in many weeks or months time.”
Chancellor strengthens and extends support offer for business
Welcoming Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement on measures to boost financial support for businesses affected by Coronavirus, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy for Norfolk Chambers said:
“We’re pleased that the Chancellor is listening and responding to the real-world concerns of firms across Norfolk who are urgently trying to access financial support. Improvements to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme will help firms get access to cash more quickly, and the announcement of a new loan scheme for mid-sized companies closes a significant gap in existing support. Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, together with the British Chambers of Commerce, will continue to work with government and the banks to ensure that support reaches businesses at the front line.”
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak is today (Friday 3 April) taking further action to support firms affected by the coronavirus crisis by bolstering business interruption loans for small businesses and announcing a new scheme for larger companies.
More than £90 million of loans to nearly 1,000 small and medium sized firms have been approved under the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) since its launch last week. And a government-backed scheme to provide financing to larger companies, being operated by the Bank of England, has also provided almost £1.9 billion of support to firms and a further £1.6 billion has been committed.
To maximise the support available, the Chancellor is extending the CBILS so that all viable small businesses affected by COVID-19, and not just those unable to secure regular commercial financing, will now be eligible should they need finance to keep operating during this difficult time.
The government is also stopping lenders from requesting personal guarantees for loans under £250,000 and making operational changes to speed up lending approvals. The government will continue to cover the first twelve months of interest and fees.
The new Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) will ensure that more firms are able to benefit from government-backed support during this difficult time. It will provide a government guarantee of 80% to enable banks to make loans of up to £25 million to firms with an annual turnover of between £45 million and £500 million. This will give banks the confidence to lend to more businesses which are impacted by coronavirus but which they would not lend to without CLBILS. Loans backed by a guarantee under CLBILS will be offered at commercial rates of interest and further details of the scheme will be announced later this month.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak MP, said:
“We are making great progress on getting much-needed support out to businesses to help manage their cashflows during this difficult time – with millions of pounds of loans and finance being provided to hundreds of firms across the country.
“And now I am taking further action by extending our generous loan scheme so even more businesses can benefit. We have also listened to the concerns of some larger businesses affected by COVID-19 and are announcing new support so they can benefit too.
“This is a national effort and we’ll continue to work with the financial services sector to ensure that the £330 billion of government support, through loans and guarantees, reaches as many businesses in need as possible.”
The Chancellor will be speaking to bank Chief Executives next week to discuss how the schemes are working and ensure everybody is playing their part.
There have now been over 130,000 enquiries from businesses across the country for business interruption loans, according to latest figures from UK Finance. Some 983 businesses have had finance approved, while banks are processing thousands of loan applications – and scheme changes made today will help them approve loans for the smallest businesses as quickly as possible.
For loans over £250,000, personal guarantees will be limited to just 20% of any amount outstanding on the CBILS lending after any other recoveries from business assets. Lenders were already prohibited from asking business owners to put their house on the line, but today’s changes will provide further reassurance regarding personal assets during this difficult time.
This will apply to finance already offered under the scheme, to ensure that all business owners receive the same level of government protection.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma MP said:
“The coronavirus pandemic represents a challenge to businesses unlike any other they have faced before and we are determined to support them through this difficult time.
“The changes we are making to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will make it easier for business to access the lending we have put in place, helping them to continue trading and protect the livelihoods of their staff.”
Last week, the Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, wrote to banks asking them to support small and medium-sized enterprises in any way they can. This included ensuring interest rates offered to struggling businesses are reasonable and to pass on the benefit of the Government guarantee to those borrowing under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Take a look at guidance for UK businesses from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) which sets out the details and eligibility criteria for two funding schemes:
(This was updated yesterday and applies only to England)
VAT Deferral
Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that there will be a deferral of VAT due to be paid between 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020 (see link below).
This essentially means that businesses will automatically qualify to defer payment of the VAT due on their VAT returns for the VAT periods ending February, March or April 2020 until 31/3/2021, although VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by HMRC as usual.
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership have now added a jobs page onto their website. The page compiles vacancies with organisations trying to recruit additional staff to continue to operate during the current Covid-19 situation across the East Anglia region.
Vacancies include those at supermarkets, such as Tescos, Morrisons, Aldi and East of England Co-op; food producers such as Bernard Matthews; various vacancies in the care sector, and fruit and crop picking and packing.
If you would like more information about adding your vacancies to this page, please contact Natasha Waller on: 07384 253 355 or email: [email protected]