Businessmen and women across the country have been commended for the part they have played in responding to the coronavirus pandemic to mark Small Business Saturday (today).
This year, Small Business Saturday comes at the end of a hugely challenging period for small businesses, with many facing long periods of closure and reduced income due to the pandemic.
Mario has praised businesses across the country for stepping in to support the local community throughout 2020.
And now retail shops in England can reopen under the tiered system of restrictions, he has urged people to get out and support them on the high street in the run-up to Christmas.
Throughout the course of pandemic, the Government has provided more than £280 billion to support lives and livelihoods. This includes:
- The furlough scheme, which has now been extended until the end of March and continues to support 2,019,300 jobs across the country.
- Grants for the self-employed, which have been made more generous in light of recent national and local lockdown announcements, and which have benefitted 4,288,000 people in England.
- Loans and Government-backed grants which have helped businesses facing severely reduced income because of pandemic.
- VAT cuts and business rates holidays for many small businesses, including those in the hospitality and retail sectors.
The Conservative Government is determined not to be blown off course by the pandemic and deliver on its promise, made at the General Election one year ago, to level up towns and communities across the whole country. To aid this, the Chancellor has recently announced a new £4 billion Levelling Up Fund to improve the infrastructure people and businesses rely on every day, following the £3.6 billion Towns Fund, and £1 billion Future High Streets Fund, which are helping to transform town centres across the country.
Commenting, Mario Creatura said:
“There’s no doubting just how challenging 2020 has been for small businesses, which are the backbone of communities up and down the country.
“We’ve seen local businesses step up to help our community time and time again this year, and I pay tribute to all of those who have played their part in getting us through the pandemic.
“With restrictions on retail now lifted, I hope everyone will get out to support our high streets and local businesses in the run up to Christmas, as this Conservative Government works to ensure as many as possible are able to thrive into 2021.”
We have supported small businesses through the pandemic by:
- Extending furlough until the end of March for all parts of the United Kingdom. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended to cover the new restrictions with employees receiving 80 per cent of their current salary for hours not worked, up to £2,500 a month. Businesses have flexibility to bring furloughed employees back to work on a part time basis or furlough them full-time. For those who have recently been made redundant (since 23 September), they can be rehired and furloughed by their employer (HMT, News story, 5 November 2020, link).
- Providing more support for self-employed people across the United Kingdom. We are providing even more generous support to the self-employed by increasing the support to the self-employed from 40 per cent of trading profits to 80 per cent for November, December and January. These grants are calculated over three months, meaning the maximum grant will increase to £7,500. This is £7.3 billion of support to the self-employed through November to January alone, with a further grant to follow covering February to April. This comes on top of £13 billion of support provided to between 2.5 million and 3 million self-employed people so far (HMT, News story, 5 November 2020, link).
- Providing Bounce Back Loans to ensure businesses are able to get access to financial support as quickly as possible. Any smaller business experiencing financial difficulties because of coronavirus can apply for a loan of up to £50,000, which is 100 per cent guaranteed by Government for the first 12 months – during which time no repayments will need to be made. Loans reach bank accounts within days of an application being made (HMT, News Story, 4 May 2020, link).
- Setting up the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to help companies that need access to cash. Any viable business with a turnover of up to £45 million can apply for a loan of up to £5 million (HMT, News Story, 3 April 2020, link).
- Extending the application deadline for loan guarantee schemes. This includes the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme – to the end of January 2021 (HMT, News story, 31 October 2020, link).
- Supporting businesses forced to close. Business premises which are legally forced to close, either under local or national restrictions, can receive grants worth up to £3,000 per month in England (HMT, Oral statement to Parliament, 22 October 2020, link).
- Providing additional support for local authorities. £1.1 billion is being provided to Local Authorities to enable them to support businesses which are not forced to close but are facing reduced demand due to the new national and localised restrictions (HMT, News story, 31 October 2020, link).
- Offering a 12-month business rates holiday for sectors which are struggling with cashflow issues. All eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, as well as nurseries, estate agents and bingo halls, will pay no businesses rates for 12 months, from 1 April 2020 (HMT, News Story, 17 March 2020, link).
- Helping smaller companies with the costs of Statutory Sick Pay. We will provide SMEs with a grant to cover up to two weeks’ sick pay per eligible employee who has been off work because of Covid-19 (HMRC/DWP, Press Release¸ 19 May 2020, link).
We will help small business build back better after coronavirus by:
- Investing £100 billion in capital spending next year – delivering the infrastructure that businesses rely on. Our plans deliver the highest sustained levels of public sector net investment since the late 1970s. We have published a National Infrastructure Strategy, and will deliver better mobile connectivity, with 4G coverage across 95 per cent of the UK by 2025, £15 billion for research and investment and the biggest ever investment in new roads, railways, cycle lanes and buses (HMT, Spending Review 2020, 25 November 2020, link).
- Launching a new Levelling Up Fund, worth £4 billion in England, to improve the infrastructure people and businesses rely on every day. Our new fund will focus on delivering projects like new bypasses, upgraded railway stations, less traffic, more libraries, museums and galleries, and better high streets and town centres. Local areas in England will be able to bid directly to fund local projects of up to £20 million which must be delivered in this Parliament (HMT, Spending Review 2020, 25 November 2020, link).
- Launching a £3.6 billion Towns Fund to ensure prosperity and opportunities are available to everyone, not just those in London or our biggest cities. The funding will support an initial 100 towns by improving both transport and digital infrastructure, driving local growth and raising living standards (MHCLG, Press Release, 6 September 2019, link).
- Backing community leaders with £1 billion of funding to help modernise their high streets and town centres. The Prime Minister has expanded the Future High Streets Fund, confirming that another 50 towns in England will be given a share of £1 billion to redevelop their high streets, improve transport and access into town centres and convert empty retail units into new homes and places of work, taking the total receiving support to 100 places (MHCLG, Press Release, 26 August 2019, link).
Photo by Arthur Franklin on Unsplash
