I would like to remind members who have not applied for the NI High Street Voucher, you have until Monday 25th October 2021 to apply to receive your £100 prepaid card and until 30th November 2021 to use the cards. I would encourage anyone who has not yet applied, to do so and support our local businesses and our local high street.
APPLY FOR NI HIGH STREET VOUCHER SCHEME: CLICK HERE
We have also added another event to our busy Autumn Events Programme on the HMRC Trader Support Service (TSS) where the TSS team will update members on the new functionality added in the past few months and what could occur in the future as policy negotiations continue. The TSS team are keen to hear feedback from members and answer any questions in a Q&A section. You can register below.
AUTUMN EVENTS PROGRAMME
Walk, Talk & Connect: Slieve Binnian Hike
Sunday 31st October 2021 – BOOK HERE
Meet Newry’s Young Entrepreneurs
Thursday 11th November 2021 – BOOK HERE
President’s Banquet & 200th Anniversary Lunch
Friday 19th November 2021 – BOOK HERE
Webinar: HMRC Trader Support Service (TSS) Autumn Update
Tuesday 23rd November 2021 – BOOK HERE
Workplace Health & Wellbeing Conference
Tuesday 30th November 2021 (Full Details TBC)
Newry Chamber AGM
Thursday 9th December 2021 – BOOK HERE
Also in this week’s update, we have included information on:
► NI Executive Autumn/Winter COVID-19 Contingency Plans
► NI Executive Work From Home Message
► Update: NI High Street Voucher Scheme
► Newry, Mourne and Down Enterprise Week 2021
► Meet Newry’s Young Entrepreneurs Event
► Reval2023: Business Ratepayers Urged To Submit Information
Tony McKeown
Chief Executive Officer
Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade
NI EXECUTIVE WINTER COVID-19 CONTINGENCY PLAN
The NI Executive has outlined their Autumn/Winter COVID-19 Contingency Plan that aims to keep business sectors open to the fullest possible extent while protecting the health of the public and minimising the strain on the health service.
BASELINE MEASURES:
The Autumn/Winter COVID-19 Contingency Plan keeps some basic COVID-19 measures in place including:
- The retention of a legal requirement for face coverings in crowded indoor settings.
- The retention of a focus on flexible and hybrid working to reduce the number of social contacts that take place in work settings, recognising that employers are well placed to engage with their workforce on the model that best suits their business.
- The legal requirement for risk assessments to continue to be carried out in certain settings and the visitor and attendee details to be recorded to support work of the Test, Trace & Protect system.
CLICK HERE TO READ CONTINGENCY PLAN IN FULL.
WORK FROM HOME MESSAGE:
NI EXECUTIVE WINTER COVID-19 CONTINGENCY PLAN
One of the measures being retained in NI Executive’s
Autumn/Winter COVID-19 Contingency Plan is to:
“Encourage flexible, hybrid working where practicable.”
The plan recognises that the current message is to:
“Work from home, where you can.”
For this Autumn/Winter, the “work from home” message will not be abandoned but change to:
“Work from home, where practical.”
The Autumn/Winter COVID-19 Contingency Plan states:
“Where practicable, employers are encouraged to facilitate their employees working from home. Employers that require staff to come into the workplace should complete a risk assessment and some may have introduced regular COVID-19 testing for employees as part of these measures.”
“Working from home, where practicable remains beneficial over the Autumn/Winter period. Employers are well placed to engage with their workforce on the best model that suits the needs of their business.”
CLICK HERE TO READ CONTINGENCY PLAN IN FULL.
UPDATE: NI HIGH STREET VOUCHER SCHEME
Some local businesses based in Northern Ireland may find that transactions are being rejected even if the cardholder has activated their card and there are sufficient funds available on the card.
This is most likely due to the businesses payment device being coded with an address outside of Northern Ireland and not being recognised as a local business based in Northern Ireland and hence, the transaction is rejected, as per the scheme rules.
In such instances, to participate and benefit from the scheme, businesses will need to contact the provider of their tills/POS terminals and/or merchant acquirer to ensure that their device is set up correctly and recognised as a business based in Northern Ireland.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW GUIDANCE & FAQs.
NEWRY, MOURNE AND DOWN ENTERPRISE WEEK 2021
Newry, Mourne and Down Enterprise Week 2021 is running from Mon 8th Nov 2021 to Fri 12th Nov 2021.
A week-long collection of economic supports, activities and workshop events are taking place, aimed at residents and businesses in Newry Mourne and Down.
PROGRAMME OF EVENTS:
The Art of Feminine Leadership & Business
Mon 8th Nov 2021, 10am – 12am
Newry & Mourne Enterprise Agency
BOOK HERE
Tendering Opportunities
Wed 10th Nov 2021, 9:30am – 11:30am
Online Webinar
BOOK HERE
Paid Ads A-Z: Google Ads Deep Dive
Wed 10th Nov 2021, 10am – 12 noon
Online Webinar
BOOK HERE
Conversations of a Business Owner
Wed 10th Nov 2021, 1pm – 1:30pm
Online Webinar
BOOK HERE
Meet Newry’s Young Entrepreneurs
Thurs 11th Nov 2021, 7:45am – 9am
Canal Court Hotel & Spa, Newry
BOOK HERE
CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL PROGRAMME OF EVENTS.
REGISTER NOW: MEET NEWRY’S YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
Newry Chamber is delighted to host a FREE breakfast seminar to promote entrepreneurship. The event is part of Newry, Mourne and Down Enterprise Week and will feature four young entrepreneurs who were finalists in at the recent Greater Newry Area Business Awards 2021.
They will share their inspiring stories so far, giving an insight into how they started, how they have created employment and what they have learnt along the way.
A panel discussion and audience Q&A, hosted by MC Deborah Loughran will follow.
The event is aimed at those who have recently started their own venture, those who are considering it and Business Studies Students from local schools and colleges. The seminar aims to highlight self-employment as a career option and how to do it.
Our panel speakers will include:
► Brendan Doherty, Connex Offsite Ltd
► Natasha Daryaie, The Gym Guru
► Aaron O’Malley, GreenQube Sustainable Living
► Dr Emma Cunningham-Idowu, Dr Emma Clinics
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
REVAL2023: BUSINESS RATEPAYERS URGED TO SUBMIT INFO
Revaluation of all non-domestic properties in NI will result in a new valuation list to be used to calculate business rates from 1st April 2023.
Previous non-domestic revaluations took place in 2003, 2015 and 2020. The last revaluation in 2020 was based on 2018 values.
Business rates are charged on most non-domestic premises including shops, offices, warehouses, factories, hotels and pubs as well as utilities such as gas, water, electricity and wind farms.
Business owners will have received an online code or paper questionnaire in the post. This enables them to provide LPS with all the information required to revalue their business either using the online Rent & Lease Questionnaire or using the paper questionnaire.
The valuation team at LPS will use rental evidence and other supporting information to prepare a new valuation list, based on October 2021 rental values.
This new valuation list will then be used to calculate rates bills from 1st April 2023.
While the deadline to complete and return the online or paper rent and lease questionnaire is 31st Dec 2021, businesses are encouraged to act now to ensure they have all the information needed to respond when asked.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.