Long winter Firms falling through support gap

COMPANIES are falling between the gaps in the Government’s various business support schemes, the boss of a South West chambers of commerce has warned.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced an extension to the Job Support Scheme (JSS) on Thursday as well as extra help for the selfemployed.

Mr Sunak said companies struggling in the Tier 2 coronavirus alert areas, which have been hit by the restrictions, will also be eligible for cash grants of up to £2,100 a month.

The moves, which are expected to primarily benefit the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sectors, follow significant pressure on the Government from unions and business groups.

But Phil Smith, managing director of Bristol-based chambers Business West, said there was a “long winter” ahead for businesses “falling through the gaps”.

He said: “All areas of the South West remain in Tier 1 and are therefore not eligible for new business rates grants for hospitality venues impacted by restrictions brought into Tier 2 and 3 areas of other regions.”

Mr Smith said although Business West welcomed the increased support, the help available was lower than in the summer.

He said that for firms that could not operate at all, but whose premises would not be be forced to close under Tier 2 or Tier 3 rules, the JSS remains “unusable”.

“There was no help for businesses who are not able to operate at all, such as the events sector, but are not required to close under local lockdowns under Tier 2 and 3,” said Mr Smith.

He also said eligibility for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEIS) “remained restricted”.

Grants available through the SEIS scheme were doubled by the chancellor to 40 per cent of profits – down from the larger offer of 80 per cent earlier in the year.

“Sole traders and partners within partnerships that made losses in the reference period, those where annual profits were higher than the arbitrary cap of £50,000 and unincorporated businesses who started trading recently still get no support,” said Mr Smith.

He added: “There is a long winter to come for firms remaining between the gaps in the various schemes.

“The last-minute nature of the changes also limits the effectiveness of the changes to JSS as many businesses will have made redundancies based on the end of the furlough scheme – the help sadly may come too late for workers recently laid off before Thursday’s last minute announcement.

“The economic damage of Covid-19 is far from over.”

There was no help for businesses who are not able to operate at all, such as the events sector Phil Smith, Business West