£5bn fund to help High Street recover from Covid
A £5bn scheme for High Street shops and hospitality firms in England has been unveiled, with Rishi Sunak promising more support to come for the economy.
The Restart Grant scheme, administered by local councils, will help almost 700,000 small business owners including those running shops, pubs, clubs, hotels restaurants, gyms and hair salons.
Non-essential retail businesses will get up to £6,000 per premises through the Restart Grant scheme to help them reopen. Shops will reopen no earlier than April 12, according to the Government’s Covid-19 roadmap.
More Restart Grant money will be available for any small business in hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gyms, which will reopen later and will be more affected by restrictions. They can receive up to £18,000, depending on their rateable value.
Meanwhile, local authorities in England will also get an extra £425 million to distribute grants to businesses not eligible for the “restart grants” but are still suffering because of Covid restrictions.
The Restart Grant scheme will replace the monthly Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) and Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open), which will both close at the end of March.
HSBC – Financial Wellbeing
As part of HSBC Social Responsibility commitment they have a complimentary Financial Wellbeing service available to support local businesses and their employees. The programme is designed to help promote and maintain employee wellbeing with each organisation.
Research has shown the increase in the statistics of employees losing sleep or being absent from work due to financial worries. Research completed by CIPD found one in four workers report that money worries have affected their ability to do their job day to day.
HSBC can provide employers with a selection of digital webinars on topics such as budgeting, cutting costs, managing debt and credit reports. This can be followed by a confidential telephone 1 to 1 appointment for individuals, this allows employees to discuss their own personal circumstances giving them the opportunity to speak about any problems or concerns they may have.
The service offered by HSBC is a complimentary service and it is not an opportunity for HSBC to sell their products. There is no requirement for the business or employee to have a banking relationship with HSBC.
If you are interested in this service, please contact HSBC using: financialwellbeing@hsbc.com
Useful Links
COVID-19: what you need to do
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Support for businesses and employers during coronavirus (COVID-19)
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support
If you have any queries regarding the support which his currently being offered, please don’t hesitate to contact me on 07811 278517.
Paul Ambrose
BID Manager
01 Mar 2021