West Sussex Charity Turning Tides Launch Emergency Appeal to Support Increasing numbers of Homeless People through Covid-19 Crisis.

On Thursday 16th April local charity Turning Tides is launching its first ever emergency appeal in response to the escalating Covid-19 crisis. The charity has supported homeless people across West Sussex for the last 28 years but Chief Executive John Holmstrom says: ‘We have never seen anything like the situation we are facing now and urgently need to ask for help. The picture we are facing as an organisation is deeply troubling.’

The public are being asked to join a ‘campaign to keep homeless people in our community alive’ and vital emergency donations are requested via the Turning Tides website www.turning-tides.org.uk. The charity has seen an unprecedented need for its services in the last few weeks and this rise is set to continue.

 John Holmstrom continues;

‘We have 21 properties across the county supporting some 200 homeless people. Additionally, we are providing vital practical and emotional support to growing numbers of rough sleepers being housed in temporary accommodation to limit the spread of the virus. There is an unprecedented demand on our services and this will only increase in the weeks and months to come. Many of our courageous frontline staff are designated keyworkers and, like our colleagues in the NHS, they are under huge pressure and putting their own health on the line as they support some of the most vulnerable people in our community.’ 

Homeless people are extremely vulnerable in the face of Covid-19 and have been named as high risk by the government. They include men and women whose health has already been damaged by trauma, rough sleeping and poverty. As many as 80% of the people supported by Turning Tides have mental health issues and about half of their service users are aged over 50. Even without the threat of a deadly virus, homeless people die on average 30 years sooner than the general population.

Three weeks ago the government set in motion an ‘Everyone In’ initiative to slow the spread of the virus through this particularly vulnerable group – it aims to offer every homeless person temporary accommodation during the crisis. Turning Tides have worked around the clock, with colleagues across sectors, scouring the streets and countryside, to find homeless people and bring them in to empty hotels and other temporary accommodation. This unprecedented development brings with it a need for increased support.

Ruth Poyner, Head of Fundraising and PR, explains:

‘On the streets, homeless men and women often survive on the generosity of the public who give to them directly. Now they are temporarily housed in local hotels and B&Bs and they are very much alone, frightened, in poor health and more unsure than ever as to what the future holds. They are often staying in one room with no support networks or family to lean on. These men and women are reliant on our frontline staff who are stretched to the limit providing emergency support, ranging from food and toiletries to mental health support and health education, including the basics of handwashing, social distancing and self-care.’

'Moreover, the number of homeless people is growing. For every rough sleeper approximately 20 others are sleeping on sofas, in vehicles, or insecurely housed. Now, as the virus spreads, these arrangements are breaking down. Covid-19 is accelerating financial hardship, relationship breakdown and mental health issues, all of which contribute to homelessness.'

Turning Tides is facing the dual challenge of significantly increased need for its services alongside the cancellation or postponement of all its community and fundraising events - a change that could result in as much as a 50% reduction in fundraising income.

The challenges faced by charities were acknowledged by the Government last week (08/04/2020) when the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £750 million fund to support charities through the Covid-19 crisis.

Turning Tides CEO John Holmstrom comments:

‘The fund is of course a welcome announcement but we also know it won’t go far enough and won’t reach everyone in need. As a whole, the charity sector is set to lose a staggering £4 billion in 12 weeks (National Council for Voluntary Organisations). More people than ever need our help and therefore we have to do everything we can to support them.’

The Turning Tides Emergency Covid-19 Appeal also asks for people to provide their email addresses via the website www.turning-tides.org.uk so the charity can keep the community informed during the weeks and months ahead.

Adur & Worthing Council Scam Warning

We have been made aware of a scam which contacts its victims with a message that reads "Action Required: Problem with rate account details"

It requests that you reply to a rating @lpsni.gov.uk email address and asks you to use an online registration form they provide to resubmit your details with the correct Ratepayer ID and Occupancy ID. 

Please do not respond to their email. 

Please only respond to correspondence relating to an @adur-worthing.gov.uk account.

If you are in any doubt please contact us on business.covidsupport@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Furlough leave - The HMRC Job Retention Scheme Acas Webinar

Date: Thursday 23rd April 
Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm

This webinar explains the temporary HMRC Job Retention Scheme being made available to businesses across the UK. The webinar is designed for employers who have furloughed workers, or are planning to furlough workers within their organisation. 

Click here to register

Coronavirus: Practical advice for businesses

The spread of Coronavirus continues to dominate the news, with major implications for businesses and individuals across Sussex, the UK and the World. The current UK and global economic conditions has resulted in businesses having to trade under extremely challenging and unprecedented conditions and for this reason, Sussex and Gatwick-based chartered accountants, tax and business advisers, MHA Carpenter Box have now set up a dedicated hub on its website available via www.carpenterbox.com/coronavirus .

The purpose of the hub is to provide practical advice and guidance for businesses and individuals in one place, rather than searching a multitude of sites for various information. Information will be updated with guidance from the Government as and when it becomes available and will also include resources and guides to help businesses during these uncertain times.

The hub also provides information on the business support packages announced by the Government, which include supporting SMEs with payroll costs; creating temporary loan schemes; business rates holidays; the provision of small business grants and delayed tax payments.

Alan Edwards, Managing Partner at MHA Carpenter Box commented: “Under the current extremely challenging economic conditions, we would urge businesses who foresee a requirement for additional support or finance to act promptly, even as a precautionary measure.”

www.carpenterbox.com

Barclays: Supporting our customers and clients impacted by Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK

Free banking measures for SMEs with turnover under £250k

• Barclays will provide free everyday banking* and overdrafts to 650,000 customers with turnover up to £250k
• The bank will waive all everyday banking fees and charges for existing business banking customers until July 2020
• Free account fees
• Free everyday banking transactions
• No overdraft fees or interest charges on both arranged and unarranged overdraft facilities
• This change will be backdated and any accrued costs from mid-March will not be charged

Hannah Bernard, Managing Director for Barclays Business Banking, said:

“We know that small businesses up and down the country are struggling with the impacts of coronavirus right now, and we will do everything we possibly can to support them.

“By offering free everyday banking and overdraft facilities to over 650,000 SMEs, we hope we will provide some temporary relief which will ease some of the financial stresses and strains businesses are under right now.

“The changes to the terms of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme announced by the Treasury will also be of comfort to millions across the UK and will enable us to more quickly help businesses access the support they need at this critical time.”

Background

*Free everyday banking: We will not apply fees to every day banking transactions including Cash, Cheques, debit card and electronic payments. Please note, there will still be charges for Barclays.Net account fees and for using any ‘additional services’ which are billed at the time of the transaction like CHAPS, but businesses with under £250k turnover do not use those facilities regularly.

In response to the Government strengthening support on offer for businesses:
New measures in places for Barclays SME customers applying for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)

• Barclays will not require Personal Guarantees on any CBILS loan, including on lending above £250k.
• This is further to the removal of a Personal Guarantee for loans less than £250k (announced on 26^th March 2020).
• We hope that this will give businesses more confidence to use CBILS as it will help simplify the application process and enable us to more quickly help businesses access the support they need at this critical time.

Existing measures in place:

Business Banking

• Free helpline open Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm offering guidance, support and information.  Available for the bank’s one million business banking customers
• 12-month capital repayment holidays on existing loans over £25k
•  Increased or new overdraft facilities and other working capital solutions
• Access to funding – 360,000 SMEs have pre-assessed lending limits which can be accessed via the Barclays app or online banking
• In addition, the bank has an existing £14 billion lending fund which we launched in 2019 as part of a three-year commitment to help SMEs build resilience during uncertain times. More detail here: https://home.barclays/news/2019/04/sme-lending-fund/ 

For more information, visit: https://www.barclays.co.uk/business-banking/

Existing measures in place:

Personal Banking Customers

We have a full package of support to help customers who are suffering financial hardship because of coronavirus, including:

• Overdrafts:Waiving all interest from 27^th March until the end of April 2020, meaning no charges for customers to use their agreed overdraft.
• Customers don’t need to call us to set this up, interest will automatically be removed from 27 March 2020.
• Mortgages:Repayment holidays on residential mortgages for up to 90 days, with an online form available for customers https://www.barclays.co.uk/coronavirus/mortgages/
• With residential mortgages specifically, the option to switch capital repayment mortgages to interest only for up to 12 months
• Credit cards: Waiving late payment and cash advance fees for all customers from 19^th March for 90 days. We’ll take care of this, so you don’t need to call us.
• Savings: Removing penalty charges to access fixed savings accounts early
• We encourage any customer suffering hardship, or who anticipates financial difficulties to look on our dedicated page, www.barclays.co.uk/coronavirus/

Corporate Banking Customers

• Ongoing outreach from dedicated relationship directors who remain in close working contact with clients and will continue to assist with individual challenges such as working capital, liquidity, supply chains, and FX, to provide the appropriate support
• Providing responsible support to clients that have a funding requirement resulting from the coronavirus impact
• Aiding short term cash flow pressures with measures such as capital repayment holidays, temporary increases to overdrafts and extending existing trade facilities. 
• New, extended or amended lending facilities

• Regular client calls to discuss economic impacts, what we are seeing and expect to see in the FX and commodity markets, and supply chain impacts and options.

For more information, please visit: https://www.barclayscorporate.com/covid-19/

Message from the AWBP Chair, Andrew Swayne

This week in Covid-19 world a lot has happened in many countries. Signs of recovery in Asia continue, but are patchy. Most of the US is in lockdown now, to one extent or another, as is most of Europe. There seems to be a pattern of extending lockdowns in 2 – 4 weekly cycles. We do have early signs of reducing death rates in Italy and Spain.

If we focus on the economic environment in the UK, I’m pleased that the government has listened to feedback and has improved some of the schemes. Many businesses will be using these schemes in a variety of ways. If any of you have issues with speed of response or process it’s important that we know about it so concerns can be collated and fed back rapidly. Please do this via any of the membership organisations you belong to and copy business.covidsupport@adur-worthing.gov.uk. This is looked at regularly during the day and is source material for high level briefings.

Last week I promised a few things to start thinking about for when recovery happens:

· Recovery will be patchy and at different speeds in different sectors

· Think about how you can manage your workplaces with social distancing remaining in place

· How might your teams be segregated so all can be at the workplace at some stage during the week

· What additional PPE might you need?

· Operating models may need to last for some time before schools re-open

£20 million for ambitious technologies to build UK resilience post pandemic

Businesses could help boost the UK’s resilience to the long-term impact of the coronavirus outbreak and similar situations in the future, as a result of £20 million government funding announced recently.

Grants of up to £50,000 will be available to technology and research-focussed businesses to develop new ways of working and help build resilience in industries such as delivery services, food manufacturing, retail and transport, as well as support people at home in circumstances like those during the coronavirus outbreak.

Heritage Emergency Fund launches to help sector

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has put together a £50million fund to support the heritage sector as an immediate response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.  

The UK-wide fund - money raised from The National Lottery - will address immediate pressures over the next three-six months for those organisations most in need. It will be open for applications within the next few days.

We will continue to support more than 2,500 projects that we have already committed to - an investment of more than £1billion. 

Eilish McGuinness, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Executive Director, Business Delivery, said:  “We know that circumstances are incredibly challenging for our heritage community right now and we want to do everything we can to support them. We hope this new fund will be a lifeline and a beacon of hope for organisations affected.

“Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, creating economic prosperity and supporting personal wellbeing. All of these are going to be vitally important as we emerge from this current crisis.”

Heritage Minister Nigel Huddleston said: “It is important that we do all we can to ensure our nation’s remarkable heritage landscapes, buildings and monuments - and the hardworking organisations that protect them - are supported at this difficult time.

“Heritage plays an important role in our communities by supporting jobs and economic growth as well as helping us to understand our shared past. This new £50 million package from the National Lottery Heritage Fund will help to protect our most at risk heritage throughout this unprecedented period.”

Heritage Emergency Fund

The £50m fund will be available for grants of between £3,000 and £50,000.

It is available to organisations across the full breadth of heritage, including historic sites, industrial and maritime heritage, museums, libraries and archives, parks and gardens, landscapes and nature.

Organisations which have received funding in the past or are either a current grantee, or still under contract following a previous grant, can apply.

Priority will be given where:

• there is limited or no access to other sources of support
• where heritage is most at risk
• where an organisation is at risk of severe financial crisis due to coronavirus (COVID-19)

Read more here

Acas newsletter - Furlough letter template | Updated Guidance | Webinars 

Here’s a brief update on resources available to help employers during the Coronavirus pandemic. Including a new furlough letter template and an invitation to register for an upcoming Acas webinar.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme This HMRC advice page helps you find out if you’re eligible and how much you can claim to cover wages for employees on temporary leave ('furlough') due to Coronavirus (COVID-19). 

Furlough letter template  We have produced a free-to-download template for employers to use to confirm that there is an agreement to temporarily furlough a worker or employee. Download here

Using holiday  View updated Acas guidance on using holiday, including advice on bank holidays.

Webinar recording: Coronavirus – an advisory webinar for employers 

Hosted on 7 April, this webinar provided practical advice for employers to help manage the impact of coronavirus in the workplace.   View recording

For more information visit the Acas website: https://www.acas.org.uk/

Message from Deborah Urquhart – Deputy Leader of West Sussex County Council and Cabinet Member for Environment

Dear residents,

Over the last few weeks all of us have experienced change which could never have been predicted. We have all had to adapt to protect ourselves and others, and some people – including NHS and many local government workers – have had to step up to help others in extremely difficult circumstances.

I want to thank everyone for playing their part in the fight against coronavirus, and this includes everyone who is staying at home to help prevent the spread of the disease.

With the warmer spring weather looking like it’s set to stay, I know how tempting it can be to get outside. Many of us are lucky enough to have private outdoor space we can enjoy. But for many others a daily walk, run, or bike ride in their local area will be the only chance they get to enjoy the outside environment.

If you are planning to venture out for your one form of exercise a day, please remember to adhere to the current government advice and stay at least two metres away from people who are not from your household.

Where possible please start and finish your exercise from home, using nearby greenspaces and don’t travel unnecessarily. Be careful when walking out and about and stick to designated footpaths, obeying the rules of the countryside. Don’t forget to thoroughly wash your hands when you get home.

For more advice on the current situation please visit our website.