A new ‘support finder’ tool will help businesses and self-employed people across the UK to quickly and easily determine what financial support is available to them during the coronavirus pandemic.
The finder tool on GOV.UK will ask business owners to fill out a simple online questionnaire, which can take minutes to complete, and they will then be directed to a list of all the financial support they may be eligible for.
Maria said “Businesses of all shapes and sizes are the lifeblood of our local economy and community and the new “support finder tool” makes it as easy as possible to access the wide-ranging package of financial support during this challenging time.
This online questionnaire takes just minutes to complete and will quickly signpost a business to the loans, grants or other schemes they could be eligible for.”
To support business, workers and the self-employed during the coronavirus outbreak, government has:
- made up to £330 billion of loans and guarantees for businesses
- offered to pay 80 per cent of the wages of furloughed workers, up to £2,500
- deferred the next quarter of VAT payments for firms, until the end of June - representing a £30 billion injection into the economy
- introduced £20 billion in tax relief and cash grants to help businesses with cash flow
- introduced the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemes for both SMEs and larger businesses to make it easier to access vital financial support
- offered to cover the cost of statutory sick pay
- entirely removed all eligible properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector from business rates temporarily;
- introduced the Self-employment Income Support Scheme, offering a taxable grant worth 80% of trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 a month
- deferred Self Assessment payments due in July 2020 until 31 January 2021
- allowed companies required to hold AGMs to do so flexibly, which may include postponing them or holding them online;
- suspended wrongful trading provisions for company directors to remove the threat of personal liability during the pandemic; and
- offered a 3 month extension for filing accounts to businesses hit by coronavirus.
The new business support finder tool can be found at https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.
More details on support for businesses can be found on the coronavirus business support hub.
