Standing in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson at today’s press briefing, Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said enlightened collaboration between businesses and the community would be key to defeating COVID-19.
He paid tribute to those in manufacturing who had already risen to the challenge of producing new ventilators and added that the Prime Minister, who had earlier in the day announced he had tested positive for coronavirus, had felt well enough to launch a new initiative, bringing together businesses, research institutes and universities in a new alliance to increase testing capacity for front-line workers.
Mr Gove said the new initiative would be “antigen” testing that will help prove if it is safe for a worker to go back to the front line and will begin immediately.
“This is truly a national effort and the spirit of selflessness shown by so many is truly inspiring,” he said.
Earlier in the day the government published detailed guidance on how employers could claim for wage costs through its Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme as well as guidance on the new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
Guidance released for workers’ support schemes
How to claim for wage costs through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Guidance for employers on the coronavirus (COVID-19) Job Retention Scheme has now been published – click here to view.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is a temporary scheme open to all UK employers for at least three months starting from 1 March 2020. The scheme is expected to be up and running by the end of April. Employers can use a portal to claim for 80% of furloughed employees’ (employees on a leave of absence) usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month, plus the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on that wage. Employers can use this scheme anytime during this period. The scheme is open to all UK employers that had created and started a PAYE payroll scheme on 28 February 2020.
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS)
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will support self-employed individuals (including members of partnerships) whose income has been negatively impacted by COVID-19. The scheme will provide a grant to self-employed individuals or partnerships, worth 80% of their profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month. Click here to view more information on the business support website, and here for FAQs.
Additional new guidance
Updated guidance for staff in the transport sector
This guidance will assist transport settings in addressing coronavirus (COVID-19). This guidance may be updated in line with the changing situation. Click here to view.
Guidance for food businesses and COVID-19: Defra Update
New guidance for food businesses on Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been published – click here to view. You can also find a summary of the latest news and guidance from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) here. Other guidance on the page includes updates on latest retailer activity, summary of seasonal roundtables as well as wider advice on coronavirus.
MHRA guidance on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New guidance on the Regulatory status of equipment being used to help prevent coronavirus (COVID-19) can be found here.
Specification for ventilators to be used in UK hospitals during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
This guidance sets out the clinical requirements based on the consensus of what is ‘minimally acceptable’ performance in the opinion of the anaesthesia and intensive care medicine professionals and medical device regulators. Click here to view.
Business support packages: latest updates
- Extra protection for businesses with ban on evictions for commercial tenants who miss rent payments – click here
- Financial assistance for employers unable to pay statutory redundancy payments – click here
- The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – click here. NEW GUIDANCE
- Deferring VAT and Income Tax payments – click here. UPDATED
- Statutory Sick Pay relief package for SMEs – click here
- 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England – click here
- Small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief – click here
- Grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 – click here
- The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5million for SMEs through the British Business Bank – click here. OPEN
- A new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans – click here. OPEN
- The HMRC Time To Pay Scheme – click here
The government has set up a business support helpline, which is open Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm. More information can be found here. The latest UK Government advice can be found here.
There is a dedicated Government Business Support site here.
Call for business help
Do you have an innovative or novel approach to get ambulances cleaner quicker to help combat Coronavirus? The Defence and Security Accelerator has launched a new Innovation Focus Area as part of its Open Call for Innovation seeking industry’s help to identify rapid sanitising technology solutions that can be demonstrated in a live trial on an ambulance. More information is available here.
Government launches Coronavirus information service on WhatsApp
The UK Government has launched a GOV.UK Coronavirus Information service on WhatsApp. The new free to use service aims to provide official, trustworthy and timely information and advice. To use the free GOV.UK Coronavirus Information Service on WhatsApp, simply add 07860 064422 in your phone contacts and then message the word ‘hi’ in a WhatsApp message to get started. Further information can be found here.