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Help for business, charities and the self-employed

 Latest situation in England

. There are still steps you can take to reduce the risk of catching and spreading COVID-19:

  • Get vaccinated
  • Let fresh air in if meeting indoors, or meet outside
  • Consider wearing a face covering in crowded, enclosed spaces
  • Get tested if you have COVID-19 symptoms, and stay at home if positive

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The government has also produced its Plan for Living With Covid.

Support for businesses

Businesses can get advice and assistance from Cumbria Tourism , the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce , and the Local Enterprise Partnership .

The government has outlined guidance on the schemes available to business. Also see what support might be available to your business .

There is also guidance for employers and how to operate safely.

More information on help for businesses, charities and the self-employed

The government launched in April 2021 a new loan scheme to provide further support to protect businesses and jobs.

Businesses – ranging from coffee shops and restaurants, to hairdressers and gyms – can now access loans varying in size from £25,000, up to a maximum of £10 million. Loans will include 80% government guarantee and interest rate cap.

Find out more about the loan scheme.

Boosting the nation’s skills with the expertise employers need is a key part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs

  • The Lifetime Skills Guarantee is part of the Government’s work to transform the adult education system so that businesses can find or develop talented people of all ages to fill skills gaps and help adults get the skills they need throughout their life, from free Level 3 qualifications and Skills Bootcamps, to basic skills offers and more.

As part of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, the Government is offering eligible adults the opportunity to take a free Level 3 qualification from a choice of courses focussed on the skills our economy needs

  • All courses have been identified to help ensure good job prospects, focussing on areas where employers are looking for skills and leading to job opportunities that can help adults earn a good wage.

You can benefit by supporting your staff to upskill or reskill into a higher level role in your business, without needing to fund the training

  • Hold onto your talented staff by helping them to gain a qualification and progress in your business.

Find out more on the Government website.

Businesses are being encouraged to bring in regular rapid-result COVID-19 testing for their workforce. 

Cumbria County Council is offering businesses two ways to access regular rapid result Lateral Flow COVID-19 testing for employees.

  • Protect your workforce, your business and your customers
  • Free training, free tests, free ongoing support and backup
  • Over 140 Cumbrian businesses already signed up

Find out more on the Cumbria County Council website .

Find out more about the Job Retention Scheme.

The government has launched a new 'Kickstart Scheme', a £2bn fund to create hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month work placements aimed at those aged 16 to 24 who are on Universal Credit and are deemed to be at risk of long term unemployment.

Funding available for each job will cover 100 per cent of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.

Find out more about the Kickstart scheme.

Find out more about the VAT cut for the retail, accomodation and hospitality industry.

As announced at budget 2021, the government will be legislating to:

  • extend the temporary reduced rate of VAT of 5% until 30 September 2021
  • prepare for a new rate of 12.5% from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022

The supplies to which the temporary reduced rates will apply remain the same.

The government is introducing a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England for the 2020 to 2021 tax year. Following government guidance we have reissued revised bills. 

We have also extended various exemptions into the 2021/22 financial year. Find out more on our business rates exemption page .

You do not need to do anything

Help for tourism businesses

Find out more from Cumbria Tourism.

The government has issued advice for charities which have been affected by the coronavirus lockdown, including details on the financial package of measures announced on 8 April 2020.

The Arts Council also has information on the help and assistance available to museums and arts organisations. 

Thinking of starting a business? Need help to grow and expand your existing venture? Cumbria Growth Hub is a great place to start when it comes to specialist business advice, no matter what stage of the process you are at or what sector you are in. Best of all, a huge range of their activities are free or subsidised. 

Set up by its close partners, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce in 2012, the Growth Hub is considered the one-stop-shop for business support, bringing together a huge wealth of information into one place. Their online support ranges from reviews and diagnostics, action plans, 1-2-1 advice, networking, workshops, events and links to other business support initiatives. 

To date, the Growth Hub has worked directly with more than 6,800 businesses, around 2,000 benefiting from intensive assistance. This has created or safeguarded 6,285 jobs and generated an estimated £280 million GVA. 

For more information on their business support activities or just for a quick, informal chat, get in contact on 0844 257 8450 (call for free), email info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk or visit their website https://cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk/.

The Growth Hub works closely with all of Cumbria's district councils and will ensure that once your business is ready to get off the ground, any statutory or regulatory queries are passed on to us directly.

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