Information for businesses during COVID-19

Last updated: 27 October 2020

The Government has issued guidance to public bodies (PPN 02/20) relating to payment of their suppliers to ensure service continuity during and after the current COVID-19 outbreak. The council has produced the following letter which sets out the approach we are taking in respect of paying and working with our suppliers during this challenging time.

Also included below is PPN 02/20 and the related FAQs

• PPN 02/20
• PPN 02/20 FAQs
• COVID-19 pandemic and payments to supplier letter
• October 2020 COVID 19 pandemic and payments supplier letter

From 5 November 2020, all non-essential shops, leisure and tourism venues, and close contact services (such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons) are required to close by law. Bars, pubs and restaurants must stay closed except for delivery or takeaway services. We'll update this page as and when restrictions change.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

There is a new ‘Workers Support’ package to help pay people’s wages. Employers who cannot cover staff costs can apply to HMRC for a grant to cover most of the wages of ‘retained’ employees who are not working which will enable them to be kept on the payroll rather than being laid off or made redundant.

The support package means:

• Employers can apply for a grant to cover 80 per cent of a ‘retained’ employee’s wages up to a maximum of £2,500 a month
• Support will be backdated to 1 March 2020 and will be available for at least 3 months and will be extended if necessary
• The scheme will be available to all employers across the UK including charitable or non-profit will be eligible for the scheme

See more information about the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and how to apply

Further information

You can read the Government's information about the support available including grant funding, statutory sick pay measures, and reliefs on business rates. There is also guidance for employers and businesses including how you can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and what to do if an employee becomes ill.

If you can’t pay us your council tax, business rates, commercial rents or any other council bill, please get in touch to look at what options we have to support you. You can also read the information above about government support. For a temporary period until the end of May 2020 we suspended all recovery action to reduce the pressure you are experiencing and to give you time to get support e.g. from the Government’s furlough scheme and business grants. Now other support is available, from 1 June 2020 we will be starting recovery action again.

We still want to support you as much as we can and know that you may still be struggling financially because of coronavirus. So we will be talking to you about affordable payment options that are based on your personal circumstances. We will be using a mixture of phone calls, letters and texts. We will avoid taking more formal action as much as we possibly can.

For those paying commercial rents please contact your case worker in the Customer Payment and Debt Team.

• Building control surveyors are working remotely but are available on their mobile phones and email – view contact details
• All new building regulation applications should be submitted electronically at Submit-a-Plan
• Site inspection requests will be risk assessed to determine whether a site visit is safe and necessary or whether compliance can be determined by alternative means such as photographic evidence

All of GO! Southampton’s patrolling services such as their ranger, cleaning and security teams are continuing to operate and are available to assist their member businesses. For the latest information visit GO! Southampton.

As a manager or business owner you’ll be dealing with a lot business concerns as well as personal ones. Even so, your staff will still be looking to you for leadership. How you communicate, manage, motivate and support them now will affect how they cope with these changed times. It will also impact current and future business performance.

Our Wellbeing in the workplace page gives information and links to help you to support staff health, wellbeing, motivation and performance so they can support your business.

Last updated: 5 August 2022

COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF)

On 25 March 2021, the Government announced plans to provide an additional business rates support package to support businesses affected by the Covid-19 but not eligible for existing support linked to Business Rates.

Government guidance for the administration of the Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF) was issued to billing authorities in December 2021: COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF): local authority guidance - GOV.UK.

We were allocated funding to award to businesses who have been adversely affected by Covid-19 and who have been unable to adequately adapt to that impact. Whilst funding is provided by central Government, it is for each council to decide its own local scheme and determine in each individual case whether to grant this relief.

From 31 January 2022 until 21 March 2022 an application process opened to allow eligible businesses to apply via an application form. There were still unallocated funds remaining after the application process had closed.

A second scheme has now been created to distribute the remaining funds to eligible businesses directly, by awarding a discount/credit onto their business rates account for the 2021-22 financial year.

We have identified businesses who qualify and will be automatically awarding the relief to those businesses. Each business will be by letter commencing 5 August 2022 and given the option of refusing to accept the relief, for example where they believe they have reached their subsidy limit. The closing date for opting out of the relief award is 2 September 2022.

Subsidy allowance

There is a requirement for this discretionary relief to be subsidy allowance compliant.  Please see further government guidance on this via this link (Section 19-29): CARF Guidance.

Full details of the council’s CARF policy is available.

Please note that this scheme will close on 30 September 2022, as no award of discretionary reliefs for the 2021-22 financial year can be made after that date.

Eligibility

• The relief should directly support ratepayers who have been adversely affected by the pandemic and have been unable to adequately adapt to that impact
• The qualifying business will be assumed to have had a loss of income of 20% or more in 2020-21.
• To be eligible for relief you must be the current liable ratepayer and occupying a property on the local rating list in Southampton City Council during the financial year 2021/22

Exclusions

• Relief will not be awarded to ratepayers who are or would have been eligible for the Extended Retail Discount (covering Retail, Hospitality and Leisure), or the Nursery Discount
• Relief will not be awarded to a hereditament for a period when it is unoccupied

How relief will be provided

• Individual relief decisions will be made on a delegated basis by officers
• The decision of a senior officer will be final. There is no formal right to appeal
• All decisions will be communicated by email or an amended business rates bill

Award of Relief

• All awards of this relief will be by a reduction against the business rates bill for the 2021/2022 financial year, based on the remaining funding available matched against businesses. We currently anticipate the reduction to be up to a 38% discount
• This is not a cash grant, and no cash payments will be made
• If a business has already paid its business rates in full for 2021/22, any credit will be offset against any prior year’s arrears, or any other business rates arrears owed by the business. If account remains in credit after any offset applied, a refund will be issued
• All relief awarded will end on the 31 March 2022

Managing the risk of fraud

Southampton City Council will not accept deliberate manipulation and fraud - and any business caught falsifying their records to gain relief awarded may face prosecution and any relief awarded will be removed, as will any relief that is awarded in error.

All information is subject to internal and external audit check, as well as Government body check.

COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund (Closed)

COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund Scheme closed 21 March 2022.

Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant (OHLG) (Closed)

Scheme closed 18 March 2022.

Final payments made by 31 March 2022.

Additional Restrictions Grant (Closed)

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) provided limited top-up budget to support the recovery phase and now with further restrictions imminent into 2022.

This scheme is now closed.

Restart Grants

Key points:

• Scheme closed 30 June 2021
• Final payments made by 31 July 2021

Local Restrictions Support Grants (Closed) Addendum: national lockdown payment for the period 16 February 2021 – 31 March 2021 (44 days)

Key points:

• Scheme closed 31 May 2021
• Final payments made by 30 June 2021

Local Restrictions Support Grants (Closed) for the period 5 November 2020 – 15 February 2021)

Key points:

• Scheme closed 31 March 2021
• Final payments made by 30 April 2021
• Local Restrictions Support Grants (CLOSED) up to the 15 February 2021

Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs (available to open wet-led pubs and closed wet-led pubs)

On 1 December 2020, the Government announced the introduction of additional support over the festive period for wet-led pubs in areas under Tier 2 or 3 restrictions. View full scheme guidance.

Key points:

• Scheme closed 28 February 2021
• The grant is a flat rate of £1,000
• Pubs that derive less than 50% of their income from food sales will be eligible to receive funding through this grant scheme (available to open wet-led pubs and closed wet-led pubs)
• For these purposes, the definition of a pub should exclude: restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, hotels, snack bars, guesthouses, boarding houses, sporting venues, music venues, festival sites, theatres, museums, exhibition halls, cinemas, concert halls and casinos
• Businesses must have been trading on 30 November 2020 (the day before this scheme was announced) to be eligible to receive funding under this scheme. Where local restrictions are preceded by national ‘lockdown’ measures, requiring the closure of businesses that are otherwise eligible, it is accepted that those businesses are still trading

Applications for Local Restrictions Support Grants (Open) for the period (for the period 2 December 2020 - 25 December 2020). This is a discretionary scheme.

This scheme closed on 31 January 2021.

If your business needs support and you are not being supported via the Local Restriction Support Grant then please read about the Additional Restriction Grant scheme below to see if you are eligible to apply for financial support.

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Opening up the economy safely and your business safely – webinar recording

At a breakfast webinar on 22 June, Councillor Daniel Fitzhenry (Leader of the council) and Dr Debbie Chase (Director of Public Health) met with businesses to provide an update on the COVID-19 situation and the council’s plans to support businesses in the city. They also answered questions on how businesses can operate safely following the easing of restrictions. View the recording to learn more about safe ways to continue to run your business and Get Southampton Moving, or view the slides.

Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)

Find out how to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in your workplace:

• Coronavirus: How to stay safe and prevent the spread (GOV.UK)
• Working safely during coronavirus guidance (GOV.UK)