It continues to be a challenging period for our business community as it does for our Health Service. In this update I have included a message from Cllr. Laura Devlin, Chair of our Council, encouraging everyone to follow the advice and stay at home unless we have a reasonable excuse to leave.
If everyone follows the rules, the quicker we will all get back to work.
Brexit continues to cause significant problems, particularly for those businesses trading with GB. The Chamber plans to run a webinar within the next two weeks on what the Brexit deal means.
InterTradeIreland and Invest NI have useful information on their websites and there are helpful links below on recent advice from the Dept. for the Economy and HMRC.
In the coming weeks, the Chamber will keep you up to date on the latest COVID-19 and Brexit advice.
COVID-19: Support for businesses and employees in NI
DfE Webinar: ‘Rules of Origin’ & ‘At Risk’ Presentation
Defra Presentation: EU Rules of Origin Business Guidance
HMRC: Update on the Northern Ireland Protocol
Also, don’t forget to join our three New Facebook Groups, which have been set up by the Chamber to support local businesses.
1. SHOP, DINE & STAY NEWRY – JOIN GROUP HERE.
2. NETWORK NEWRY – JOIN GROUP HERE.
3. JOBS NEWRY – JOIN GROUP HERE.
Colm Shannon
Chief Executive Officer
Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade
HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT ON THE FURLOUGH SCHEME
We have received a number of queries from members about how employees can take holidays during periods of Furlough. Workers on Furlough can take holidays without disrupting their Furlough.
There is some useful advice on GOV.UK on the payment of furlough during periods of leave or public holidays. If you have a payroll provider you can also discuss it with them.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFO.
COVID-19 GRANT SUPPORT
There is a range of government COVID-19 support schemes available for businesses at the moment.
For many businesses, it is difficult to keep up to date with all the grants and financial assistance.
nibusinessinfo.co.uk has a summary of what’s available and it can be found below.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFO.
NMD BUSINESS GROWTH: BUYER TO PRODUCER PROGRAMME 2021
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has launched its first support programme of 2021 for SMEs and entrepreneurs who wish to explore opportunities to diversify their business.
As part of the NMD Business Growth Programme, the specially designed Buyer to Producer Programme offers participants guidance on how to switch from buying and selling products, to producing and commercialising their own products in-house.
Expert mentors will help local businesses to up-skill and re-skill their teams, allowing them to adapt their operations in relation to recent changes to the economic climate and to find new ways of doing business.
The Buyer to Producer Programme involves tailored one-to-one mentoring and targeted online workshops, focusing on assessing your readiness to diversify, product development and getting ready launch your new product.
To be eligible for this programme, your business must:
► Be based in the NMD District Council Area
► Employ less than 50 people
► Have a genuine desire to produce your own products
Due to ongoing restrictions relating to travel and social interaction, all one-to-one mentoring will be provided virtually using Zoom software.
Interested participants should get in touch as soon as possible as demand is expected to be extremely high for places on this programme.
COSTS:
The programme is FREE to participants.
HOW LONG DOES THE PROGRAMME LAST FOR?
The programme will start in mid-February 2021 and will run until late May 2021.
HOW TO APPLY:
Email Curtis at Full Circle – curtis@fullcircle.eu.com
DEADLINE TO APPLY:
Friday 29th January 2021
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFO.
CHAIRPERSON URGES RESIDENTS TO STAY AT HOME
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Cllr. Laura Devlin has urged all residents to comply with Stay At Home regulations and help save lives as concerns grow over pressures on the NHS.
Following new NI Executive COVID-19 restrictions which came into force on 8th January 2021 and a joint statement from Health Trusts at the weekend on the very serious situation facing our hospitals, Cllr. Laura Devlin said:
“You must Stay At Home to protect yourself, your loved ones and the wider community.”
“You will be aware of the disturbing rise in COVID cases in recent weeks and the resulting strain on our hospitals. This weekend was the busiest for health trusts since the start of the pandemic.”
“Off-duty staff responded to calls from Southern Trust to help avoid a crisis and we are indebted to them.”
“But this is a very concerning situation and the six Health Trusts have warned that by the third week in January, NI hospitals could be dealing with double the number of COVID patients we are seeing now.”
“We need to get case numbers down in the district to try to ensure both COVID and non-COVID patients get the care that they urgently need. All that our hard-working health care professionals want you to do is to stay at home if you possibly can.”
“The Stay At Home order is now legally enforceable and you cannot leave without a reasonable excuse. A reasonable excuse to leave home is one such as for medical reasons, food shopping, exercise and work that cannot be done from home and there is an increase in visible policing to help enforce these new regulations.”
“If you are leaving home to exercise, you should not travel more than 10 miles. Our forest and country parks, coasts, mountains and outdoor sites across the district were extremely busy in recent weeks. So, if you arrive at a destination and crowds make social distancing difficult, you should find an alternative place to exercise.”
“Ultimately, this is about personal responsibility. The single most important action we can all take is to stay at home. So, before you reach for the car keys, ask yourself if your journey is really necessary.”
“I know many of you have been following guidance and encouraging others to do so. I want to thank you for all your efforts and I ask you to keep going at this worrying time.”
“For those who know they could be doing more, please redouble your efforts for all our sakes. I don’t want it to be you or one or your loved ones in urgent need of hospital care. This is about saving lives.”
VIEW NI EXECUTIVE COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS HERE.
DOMESTIC ABUSE AWARENESS SESSIONS
Newry, Mourne and Down PCSP in partnership with the Southern Domestic & Sexual Violence Partnership have engaged Women’s Aid to deliver FREE online Domestic Awareness Sessions to those working in the Beauty Industry (e.g.) Hairdressers and Beauticians.
For many people who are experiencing domestic abuse, hairdressers and beauty salons are safe spaces where they’re at ease with the stylists they trust.
Professionals working in the Beauty Industry are in a unique position to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse in their clients and become invaluable and influential community partners in reducing the impact of domestic abuse.
These sessions are aimed at enabling participants to recognise domestic abuse, know how to respond to disclosures and know where to signpost for support.
Sessions will take place via Zoom, spaces are limited to 10 particpants per session so book your place early.
You can choose from one of the following dates:
Wed 27th Jan 2021 – 6pm – 8pm
Mon 22nd Feb 2021 – 10am – 12 noon
Wed 4th March 2021 – 6pm – 8pm
For more info and to book, please contact:
rebekah@womensaidarmaghdown.org
028 3025 0765 and ask for Rebekah
MOVING GOODS BETWEEN NI & GB
The UK government gave a commitment of unfettered access for goods moving between NI and GB.
Further info on how this will work is now available.
The clear message is you cannot move goods through NI to avoid UK tariffs or import processes. You may receive penalties if you move goods through NI for avoidance purposes.
Further info on movement of goods can be found below.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFO.