Government extends furlough giving businesses lifeline to October – comment from accountants Kreston Reeves

The Government has announced changes to the furlough scheme giving businesses a lifeline to October.

The changes will see employers from:

• 1 July allowed to bring back furloughed staff on a part time basis;
• 1 August required to make NICS and pension contributions;
• 1 September required to contribute 10% of wages; and
• 1 October required to contribute 20% of wages.

Andrew Tate, Partner and Head of Restructuring at accountants, business and financial advisers Kreston Reeves comments:

“Businesses will be relieved to see a generous phasing is out of the furlough scheme. We had expected the Chancellor to make much deeper changes, possibly requiring businesses to contribute up to 50% of wages to furloughed staff.

“The requirement to pay NICS and pension contributions will for most businesses mean contributing approximately 5% of their wage bill, increasing to 14% in 1 September and 23% on 1 October.

“This may be too much for some businesses and they will either make redundancies or collapse. But for many businesses, this window gives them the time to plan and prepare – the cliff edge of a sudden end to furlough has been avoided.

“However, a word of caution. This level of support to businesses is not sustainable indefinitely and we expect to see further and deeper changes to furlough in the Autumn. Businesses should use this window to 1 October to prepare for those changes and ensure they are on the strongest possible financial footing.”

Safe In Sussex is still here for you during the pandemic

Safe in Sussex are a West Sussex Charity that helps people affected by domestic abuse. 

Helpline: Monday to Friday, 10:0am - 3:00pm, 01903 896202

Online chat: Available on www.safeinsussex.org Monday to Friday, 12:30pm - 2:30pm. Just click on the speech bubble on the right hand side of our side. 

Outreach Support: Helps to support to both men and woman. You can self-refer via our website or by email at outreach@safeinsussex.org.uk or call them on 0330 333 7416 

Freedom Programme: This women's support and education group is now online. There is a variety of times, including an evening slot. Email elaine@safeinsussex.org.uk or call 01903 896 212 for details.

Refuge: If you need a safe place to stay for you and your children, we can help you find refuge, whether that is with us or with another service. Please call 0330 333 7416 for more information. 

Supporting English Tourism Week 

All this week we’re supporting English Tourism Week. It’s a great opportunity to raise awareness of our sector and to encourage Government, MPs and stakeholders to support the recovery of English Tourism. We’re reaching out to MPs across our county, asking them to pledge their support. We’d like you to do the same and to join the campaign on social media.

1. Download VisitEngland’s ‘I support English Tourism’ sign and tweet it alongside the hashtag #EnglishTourismWeek20. Download here.

2. On #ThrowbackThursday (28 May) share photos and your favourite memories to celebrate the places we love.

New Course: Face Fit Train the Tester - Qualitative 

Alpha Training Safety Solutions are running a new course – Train the Tester – qualitative face fit testing, a 4 hour course delivered by our fit2fit accredited trainer, Neal Daniels.  Your team can attend our site at Poling or we can arrange to come to a nominated site.                      

Click here or go to their website for more information and for peace of mind please see their Covid-19 Risk Assessments and Policy documents.

If you just want testing then Alpha Training Safety Solutions' sister company – Face Fit Testing UK Ltd - is also available to attend client’s sites to conduct face fit testing – we have a detailed Risk Assessment on our website.  Please contact info@facefittestinguk.co.uk or 07377 446462.

New Mayor of Worthing pledges to build on lockdown community spirit

The new Mayor of Worthing has pledged to help the town return to ‘some form of normal’ while retaining the spirit shown by residents during lockdown.

In an unprecedented Annual Meeting of the Full Council ceremony on Tuesday night, conducted with members of the borough council via remote video technology, Clr Lionel Harman, was voted in as the new First Citizen. He replaces last year’s Mayor, Clr Hazel Thorpe.

After leaving his screen for a few minutes to don the mayoral chains, Cllr Harman returned to tell members he was proud to be chosen to serve Worthing, particularly at a time when community cohesion was so vital.

‘Although these are unusual times I am looking forward to working with all companies, groups and individuals from our great Town to help return us to some form of normal,’ he said, ‘With all the good will and selfless acts of kindness displayed over the past few months, I wish to encourage all of us to continue to show this respect for others to build a better society for everyone now and in the future. 

‘I intend to use my mayoral term doing everything I can to make this happen.’

Cllr Harman was first elected a councillor for Castle ward in 2015 and then reelected in 2019. Married to Karen, they have four children and six grandchildren.

The new Mayor works tirelessly alongside Worthing Veterans and other military organisations as the Worthing Borough Council’s Armed Forces Champion.

He is also a Trustee for TS Vanguard the Worthing branch of the Sea Cadets. 

Cllr Harman has chosen three local charities to support through fundraising in his Mayoral year. They are: Worthing Mencap’s Buddy’s drop-in centre and information hub, Worthing Sea Cadets and The Worthing Society. He told members that details of how contributions could be made to the charities would be released shortly.

Worthing centenarian saved from potential disaster

A 100-year-old man avoided a potential disaster in his home after quick-thinking work from an Adur and Worthing Councils employee. 

Jade Marshall, who works in the housing team, responded to a call from the gentleman’s carer asking for help to fix a leaking roof. Heavy rain water was coming through and there was a risk that it could come into contact with the electrics. 

Jade, a volunteer in her spare time for the Councils’ COVID-19 support line, is used to dealing with all sorts of calls. But this one left her unsure about how she was going to solve it. 

She explained: “The gentleman’s carer called us out of desperation, having tried but failed to find a roofer who was available to come out. I also called around to see if I could find a roofer but as it was late in the day, and with many tradespeople operating a reduced service due to Covid-19, no one was available until the next day. There was no way I could leave the gentleman in this situation. He is partially sighted and hard of hearing. I needed to find a solution.” 

With no time to spare, Jade put in a call into Worthing Fire Service and soon members of the white watch crew were on their way to see how they could help the Goring resident. They made sure that all electrical equipment was moved out of the way or switched off so that the centenarian would be safe overnight, but they were unable to fix the hole in the roof.

Thankfully, local firm Apex Roofing stepped into help the following morning and in no time had the hole in the roof fixed. What’s more, they did the repair work for free.   

Apex Roofing’s Isabelle Charlier said: “We were glad to help and do our bit to help vulnerable people at this awful time. We checked in with the gentleman the following day after more heavy rain and were pleased to hear there had been no further leaks.” 

Medicine, dance and now Adur’s new chairman

Adur’s new dance-mad chairman has vowed to put his best foot forward in serving the area’s residents for the next year in office. 

Cllr Andy McGregor, who represents Widewater ward, was officially confirmed in the role at the local authority's annual meeting this week (Thursday 22nd May 2020).

As first citizen of the District, Cllr McGregor - who swapped a career in medical research and pharmaceuticals to become a dance teacher - will represent the Council at community and civic events for the next year.

As a former champion fencer, martial arts enthusiast and keen racing sailor, Andy has plenty of interests away from the council chamber. He also regularly pops up as an extra, dancing in television shows - with Midsomer Murders and a remake of Dirty Dancing among those on his credits list.

But his focus for the next year will be representing the communities of Adur while raising funds for his chosen charities - Safe in Sussex; West Sussex Mind; and the Supeta youth training vessel which is based in Shoreham.

Cllr McGregor takes over the civic chains from Cllr George Barton, who was praised for the “big smile and big personality” he has brought to the role, despite the disruption from COVID-19.

Cllr Barton said: “What a year it’s been, I don’t think anyone will have quite the year I have had, particularly with what has happened in the last few months due to this terrible disease.”

During his term in office, Cllr Barton attended more than 100 community events and raised about £2,500 for his chosen charity Electric Storm Youth in Lancing.

Paying tribute to his work, Cllr Carson Albury said: “George has been wonderful and shown so much enthusiasm in office. To be involved in so many different ways - schools, hospitals, community groups, picking litter, planting trees - he has displayed so much energy and I know he has enjoyed every single minute of it.

“His eagerness to attend everything he has been invited to with a big smile and big personality has been tremendous, he really has been absolutely marvellous as chairman.”

Cllr Stephen Chipp, who represents Southwick Green, will serve as Vice Chairman for the coming year.

Changes to Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)

Following HM Treasury’s announcement on 19^th May, several changes to the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) take effect from, Tuesday 26^th May.

Please find attached an updated CLBILS factsheet which you are welcome to share to support awareness.

The scheme facilitates access to finance for mid-sized and larger businesses with a group turnover of more than £45m affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The maximum amount available through CLBILS to a borrower and its group has now increased from £50m to £200m. Term loans and revolving credit facilities over £50m will be offered by CLBILS lenders which have secured additional accreditation. The maximum size for invoice finance and asset finance facilities remains at £50m. Companies borrowing more than £50m through CLBILS will be subject to further restrictions on dividend payments, senior pay and share buy-backs during the period of the loan.

Further information on changes introduced today, including new provisions on seniority of CLBILS facilities, can be found on the CLBILS page on the British Business Bank website. Please note that we have introduced a new, in-depth FAQs section for businesses, which has the full details of the changes to the scheme. This information can be shared with your SME clients and networks, but please note that any queries by SMEs in relation to their specific circumstances must be directed to their lender or one of the accredited CLBILS lenders and not to the BBB. 

Work underway to prepare for Town Centre Reopenings 

Work is underway at Adur & Worthing Councils to prepare town centres for the re-opening of shops and for the return of open air markets.

Plans are being prepared to introduce social distancing measures in Worthing, Shoreham, Lancing and Southwick so that returning shoppers can feel safe and comfortable when all retail can open from June 15.

Some road closures, one way walking routes and widening of pavements in town centres are being considered so that the government’s two metre social distancing rules can still be followed. Some on street parking bays may be removed to help this.

A government grant of £56,000 to Adur and £98,000 to Worthing under the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund will help pay for implementation of the measures.

The Councils will be working with businesses and organisations such as West Sussex County Council, Worthing’s Town Centre Initiative and the independent traders to develop the plans which are expected to be finalised next week.

In the meantime discussions are underway with organisers and traders about the timing of the opening of open-air markets with the farmers’ market at Shoreham on June 13 likely to be the first up and running.

Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Cllr Kevin Jenkins, ‘Staff are working hard to prepare plans to bring the town centre back to life. We need measures that help under pressure retailers with their reopenings but also make visitors feel safe and comfortable and help them keep to distancing guidelines. I’m sure we can achieve both.’

His counterpart at Adur District Council, Cllr Brian Boggis, said, ‘Of course we want to see life returning to our centres but we know we have to do this in a measured way. By creating clear new navigation routes and signage we are sure we will be able to reassure shoppers and help retailers as they emerge from lockdown.’

Gemini Print is here to help you get back to work

The Prime Minister outlined his road map for easing the coronavirus lock down, indicating a return to trading for retailers from 1st June. With a target date in mind, our retail community can now begin preparations to provide a safe sanctuary for business returning to work. With this in mind, we are pleased to offer a range of products to enable staff and customers to work with peace of mind while observing the new guidelines around hygiene and social distancing.

These include hand sanitiser, clear protective screens and a range of face masks, all fully certified and available at cost price to our valued clients. Our hand sanitiser is available for order now in a range of sizes for use in the work place, individually or for refills. Prices as shown, orders welcome by case or pallet.

Our sanitiser has a 75% alcohol content for maximum protection. It is fully compliant with biocidal products regulation and has HSE approval. It also carries 24-hour emergency contact details, managed by Chem-Tel, thus meeting all relevant legal and regulatory requirements for distribution in the UK.

Gemini Print Group has secured a steady supply of hand sanitisers, stored within our warehouse facility and delivered to you on a next day service.

For more information or to place an order, please email me at
s.cropper@gemini-print.co.uk or call me on 01273 086 240