On 3 March 2021, the Chancellor announced the Restart Grant Scheme to help support businesses affected by the Coronavirus pandemic as they reopen in line with the gradual lifting of restrictions. Applications for the Restart Scheme are now open until 30 June 2021....
Restart & Recovery Advice
Recovery Loan Scheme
The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) launched earlier this week will provide financial support to businesses across the UK as they recover and grow following the Coronavirus pandemic. BCC's Suren Thiru was included on the press release welcoming the new scheme which "can...
Department for Health Briefing for outdoor venues
In line with the UK Prime Minister’s roadmap plan set out on 22 February, outdoor venues will re-open from Monday 12 April. Hospitality and outdoor venues will be required to follow the updated Contact Details Regulations (‘the Regulations’) by asking the public to...
Factsheet on new ‘super-deduction’ incentive published
Following the announcement at the 2021 Budget of a new ‘Super Deduction’ investment incentive, HM Treasury have published a factsheet on the new initiative. This is ahead of full technical guidance being published in due course. For expenditure incurred from 1 April...
Coronavirus: Returning to work guidance
UK Parliament has produced a paper providing an overview of the rules surrounding COVID-19 and returning to work. It discusses the lockdown legislation, employer's health and safety obligations and when workers can refuse to go to work. You can download and read the...
Rapid COVID-19 testing for essential workers in Worcestershire
Free rapid COVID-19 tests are now available from participating pharmacies across Worcestershire. These tests are for residents and who live or work in Worcestershire and who do not have any symptoms of COVID-19. It’s recommended to have a test twice a week, even if...
BUDGET: Support for the self-employed
The Chancellor has announced more support for the self-employed in today's Budget. With nearly a fifth of self-employed people missing out on previous grants because they had only recently started working for themselves and so could not prove their income status on...
Roadmap to lifting lockdown restrictions
On Monday 22 February Boris Johnson addressed the commons to announce the planned roadmap to easing lockdown restrictions. The Prime Minister stressed that each stage of a new 4-stage plan will be driven by "data not dates". The PM says there will be "at least" five...
The roadmap to recovery – latest from Boris Johnson
In a speech on Monday 15 February, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the national vaccination programme surpassed the target set 6 weeks ago, as it reaches a milestone of more than 15 million people vaccinated across the UK. More than 90% of those aged over...
New specialist support available for Marches businesses
More than 40 independent specialists have been appointed to deliver one-to-one support to businesses working with Marches Growth Hub teams across the region. Businesses helped by the expert advisers, working with hubs in Hereford, Shrewsbury and Telford, are already...