We are working closely with Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, Cumbria Tourism and Carlisle Ambassadors to support local businesses.

 

EU Transition

A deal with the EU has been reached and businesses should take action to ensure that their business operations can run smoothly as new rules apply. Businesses should prioritise taking any actions as soon as possible in the new year. 

The links below provide more information to support business:

• Use the Brexit checker tool for a personalised list of actions.
• Sign up here for business readiness bulletins to receive important updates for your business.
• If you move goods into, out of, or through Northern Ireland, check the latest Northern Ireland Protocol guidance here.
• For guidance on Rules of Origin see here. 
• For details of the new arrangements for hiring workers from the EU see here.
• For travelling to Europe check here and for passports here.
• For Data Protection and Data Flows check here.

• UK Government information: https://www.gov.uk/transition
• Cumbria Chamber of Commerce's Brexit Toolkit: https://www.cumbriachamber.co.uk/brexit 
• Cumbria LEP: https://www.thecumbrialep.co.uk/news-detail/2020/the-uk-transition-guidance-for-employees-employers-and-businesses

 

 

Coronavirus Business Grants

A summary of the various grants available is set out below.

We are doing everything to simplify the process for local business owners, including where possible automated payments based on any previous applications. 

If you have already completed an application form and received a grant from us for the period 5 November - 2 December 2020 for the Local Restrictions Support Grant due to national restrictions (for closed businesses), please do not complete this application form again. We are hoping to automatically pay as many grants as possible (for eligible closed businesses from 31 December 2020 onwards) as a lump sum payment using the bank details already provided.

 

One off top-up grants for retail, leisure and hospitality sectors

The Chancellor has announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the spring.

Please see further info at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/46-billion-in-new-lockdown-grants-to-support-businesses-and-protect-jobs(link is external)

We will update further as soon as we have received guidance from government. 

 

Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs

The Christmas Support payment is a single one-off payment of £1,000.00 for wet-led pubs.  The scheme is available to eligible businesses trading on 30 November 2020. Applications must be received by Friday, 29 January 2021.

The link to the online applications is https://www.carlisle.gov.uk/Online-Forms/Covid-Wet-Led-Grant-Form

For the purposes of this grant, a wet-led pub is defined as a pub that derives less than 50% of its income from sales of food.

Under this grant scheme the following venues are excluded: restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, hotels, snack bars, guest houses, boarding houses, sporting venues, music venues, festival sites theatres, museums, exhibition halls, cinemas, concert halls and casinos.

To qualify for this grant, your business must be based in Carlisle and on 30 November 2020:

• Open to the general public, as a wet-led pub.
• Allowed free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided.
• Allowed drinking without requiring food to be consumed and permit drinks to be purchased at a bar.
• Liable for business rates for the premises.

If your business has previously been paid a Small Business Grant, Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant or Local Restrictions Support (Closed) Grant, we will be able to consider this application for other available funding.

From December 2, wet pubs, bars and other venues selling alcohol that don’t serve substantial meals must stay closed. These business that are required to stay closed will continue to receive support, fortnightly, for as long as restrictions remain in place.

Public houses, bars or businesses serving alcohol for consumption on the premises (without a substantial meal) that have not yet applied for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) since November 5, please apply now to enable regular payments to be made during the restriction periods.

If your substantive business has closed, however, you are operating a take-away service, you can still apply.

This form will be used for all relevant periods.

Businesses with more than one qualifying property will receive more than one payment.

Businesses in administration, insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made are not eligible for funding under this scheme.

 

Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open)

For business which are severely impacted by the Tier 2 Restrictions but not required to close, the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) scheme will apply. This scheme will focus on supporting hospitality, accommodation and leisure businesses in line with Government guidance.

We have a limited budget for this fund, and while we will aim to support as many business as possible, we have set a priority A category which we will aim to support first, and then a priority B, which we will aim to support if we are satisfied that we can support all the priority A businesses which are eligible.

Priority A

Business which fall into this category are:

• Pubs, restaurants and cafes (that are liable for business rates and are the ratepayer) which serve food and can therefore remain open during these restrictions but see a disruption in their trade due to the restrictions put in place.
• Holiday/travel accommodation providers (B&Bs, Self-catered holiday cottages and Hotels) (that are liable for business rates and are the ratepayer) which are able to trade however will see a reduction in visitors as longer distance travel is discouraged to tier 2 and 3 areas.
• Leisure & sport businesses (e.g. leisure centres and gyms, swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, golf courses, fitness and dance studios, climbing walls, archery, driving, and shooting ranges) (that occupy rateable premises and are the ratepayer) which are able to trade but will see a disruption in their trade due to the restrictions put in place.

Priority B

Once we are satisfied that we can support all the above businesses which apply in Carlisle, we will then aim to support the following:

• B&Bs/holiday lets that pay council tax instead of business rates
• Business which operate in a shared space where they are not the ratepayer.
• Events sector businesses, who have seen an impacted to their trade due to the tier 2 restrictions, for example limited wedding receptions

We are identifying businesses that we have determined meet the eligibility for LRSG Open and will be in contact with them directly in order to ensure that we are able to target the right businesses for this fund quickly. An application form will be made available on our website for any business that has not been contacted by us but feels that they meet the criteria.

 

Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG​)

To support businesses through the enhanced national England-wide restrictions to help reduce the spread of Coronavirus, the government announced a Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) for Local Authorities to distribute to local businesses.

The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) will be paid out for every period that Carlisle is under national or local Tier 3 and Tier 4 restrictions.

Following the Government’s announcement that Cumbria would be returning to Tier 4 and subsequently National Lockdown, the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) has been reactivated in line with Government guidance.

We are fast tracking another ARG payment to all previous successful applicants, without the need for them to re-apply. 

All new applicants for the Additional Restrictions Grant will be required to complete the full application form. For more information, and to make an application, please visit: https://www.carlisle.gov.uk/ARG

All new applications require the applicant to submit the required evidence e.g. Confirmation of bank details in the form of a copy of the bank statement header. This is necessary in order for us to assess their eligibility. 

Please note that this is not an application for the retail, hospitality and leisure top up grant of up to £9,000, or for the additional payment from the Local Restrictions Support Grant closed - please read the eligibility criteria for this grant carefully before applying.

PLEASE NOTE: This grant is not for businesses mandated to close by government as of 5 November which are liable for business rates in Carlisle, such businesses should apply for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed).

 

Local Restrictions Support Grant due to national restrictions (for closed businesses)

Businesses that were open as usual, but were then required to close between 5 November and 2 December 2020 due to the national restrictions imposed by government may be eligible for a grant under the scheme for LRSG (Closed) Addendum.

Eligible businesses may be entitled to a cash grant for each 28 days period under national restrictions.

When national restrictions are introduced and businesses are required to close, other mandatory grant schemes are superseded by LRSG (Closed) Addendum.

An online application form is available here: https://www.carlisle.gov.uk/Online-Forms/Covid-LSR-Grant-Form

If you have already completed an application form and received a grant from us for the period 5 November - 2 December 2020, please do not complete this application form again.

Support is available for eligible closed businesses from 31 December 2020 onwards. We are hoping to automatically pay as many grants as possible in a lump sum payment using the bank details already provided.

Please bear with us while we receive the latest government guidance and we will then process your grant payments.

 

Eligibility

Your business may be eligible if it:

• Is based in Carlisle.
• Occupies property on which it is liable for business rates (and is the ratepayer).
• Has been required to close because of the national restrictions from 5 November to 2 December 2020.
• Has been unable to provide its usual in-person customer service from its premises.

For example, this could include non-essential retail, leisure, personal care, sports facilities and hospitality businesses. It could also include businesses that operate primarily as an in-person venue, but which have been forced to close those services and provide a takeaway-only or collection service instead.

Eligible businesses can get one grant for each non-domestic property.

A list of the businesses required to close is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/closing-certain-businesses-and-venues-in-england

 

Businesses excluded from the fund

You cannot get funding under the grant scheme if:

• You can continue to operate during the period of restrictions because you do not depend on providing direct in-person services from your premises (for example accountants).
• You have chosen to close, but have not been required to close as part of national restrictions.
• You have exceeded the permitted state aid limit.

You must us if your situation changes and you no longer meet the eligibility criteria.

 

If you already get state aid

LRSG (Closed) Addendum counts towards the total de minimis state aid you’re allowed to get over a 3-year period - €200,000.

If you have reached the de minimis threshold, you may still be eligible for funding under the COVID-19 Temporary Framework. The limit for this framework is €800,000.

You will need to complete a declaration confirming that:

• You will not exceed the relevant State aid threshold.
• You were not an ‘undertaking in difficulty’ on 31 December 2019 (this applies to the temporary framework only).

The undertaking in difficulty test does not apply to small and micro undertakings (less than 50 employees and less than €10 million of annual turnover or annual balance sheet), unless any of the following apply:

• The business is already in insolvency proceedings.
• The business has received rescue aid that has not been repaid.
• The business is subject to a restructuring plan under state aid rules.

 

What you get

The grant will be based on the rateable value of the property on the first full day of restrictions.

If your business has a property with a rateable value of £15,000 or less, you may be eligible for a cash grant of £1,334 for each 28-days qualifying restrictions period.

If your business has a property with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000, you may be eligible for a cash grant of £2,000 for each 28-days qualifying restrictions period.

If your business has a property with a rateable value of £51,000 or above, you may be eligible for a cash grant of £3,000 for each 28-days qualifying restrictions period.

 

If your business has not closed, support may be available through the Council’s Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG​). The criteria and online application form are available at www.carlisle.gov.uk/ARG

 

Government guidance 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) support is available to businesses:

• Find out what financial support schemes you may be eligible for

• Make your workplace COVID-secure

• Find out how to apply for a grant if you’re self-employed

• Check how local coronavirus restrictions affect your business

For guidance and support visit https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support  

 

Stay up to date with GOV.UK

Sign up to get emails when we add new coronavirus business support information

 

Funding support

For funding opportunities visit www.carlisle.gov.uk/funding 

We are providing local businesses with free access to its local business support and grant portal provided by Open4Business. This is tailored for the Carlisle area and includes local, regional and national schemes. Business can also search for funding relevant to their size and sector. To use the portal, you will first need to register with Open4Business. Visit the portal at https://www.idoxopen4business.co.uk/carlislecitycouncil

The government’s ‘support finder’ tool helps businesses and self-employed people across the UK to quickly and easily determine what financial support is available to them during the coronavirus pandemic. The link is here.

 

NHS Test and Trace

Venues such as pubs, restaurants, hair salons and cinemas are now required by law to record contact details of their customers, visitors and staff in the latest move to stop the spread of coronavirus.

The NHS COVID-19 app launched on Thursday 24 September in England and Wales, including QR check-in at venues.

Designated businesses and organisations, including hospitality, close contact services and leisure venues, will also be legally required to log details of customers, visitors and staff for NHS Test and Trace.

Businesses are now required to display official NHS QR code posters so customers who have downloaded the new NHS COVID-19 app can use their smartphones to easily check-in.

Businesses can download the QR codes via a website - https://www.gov.uk/create-coronavirus-qr-poster - to display as posters in premises.

Using the COVID-19 app, customers and visitors in England are now able to check-in on entry with their phone instead of filling out a check-in book or tool specific to a business. This will allow NHS Test and Trace to contact customers with public health advice should there be a COVID-19 outbreak.

Services included in the new legal requirements are:

• Hospitality, including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés.

• Tourism and leisure, including gyms, swimming pools, hotels, museums, cinemas, zoos and theme parks.

• Close contact services, including hairdressers *facilities provided by local authorities, including town halls and civic centres (for events), libraries and children’s centres.

For further details on the announcement please click here and for guidance on maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors to support NHS Test and Trace click here.

The government has also prepared a bank of resources. Click here to view these.

The full list of business settings is listed here.