This week has been a busy week with the publication of the NI Executive’s Roadmap out of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Chancellor’s Budget Statement.
The absence of dates in the Roadmap was a disappointment for the business community but we hope that the review dates, the first of which is 16th March, will see gradual reopening of our economy.
With further review dates on the 15th April, 13th May and 10th June, we hope that most areas of our economy will have reopened by the early summer and that this will be the last lockdown.
The Chancellor’s Budget brought a welcome extension to the furlough scheme which will help many business with the gradual reopening. The continuing VAT relief for the hospitality sector is also welcome.
Additional COVID-19 funding for the NI Executive will help with the rebuilding of our economy and it is important that the NI Executive targets this towards supporting businesses through what will be a challenging year.
You may also be interested in a document published recently by the Bank of England forecasting a rapid economic recovery in 2021 which can be viewed HERE.
Also, don’t forget to join our three 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
CHANGES TO THE FURLOUGH SCHEME FROM JULY 2021
The Chancellor announced on Tuesday the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention (Furlough) Scheme until 30th September 2021 and the level of grant available to employers under the scheme will stay the same until 30th June 2021.
From 1st July 2021, the level of grant will be reduced and you will be asked to contribute towards the cost of your furloughed employees’ wages. To be eligible for the grant you must continue to pay your furloughed employees 80 per cent of their wages, up to a cap of £2,500 per month for the time they spend on furlough.
The table which you can view HERE, shows the level of government contribution available in the coming months, the required employer contribution and the amount that the employee receives per month where the employee is furloughed 100 per cent of the time.
You can continue to choose to top up your employees’ wages above the 80 per cent total and £2,500 cap for the hours not worked at your own expense.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFO.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT INCOME SUPPORT SCHEME
FOURTH GRANT OUTLINED AS PART OF BUDGET 2021
The Chancellor also announced as part of the Budget, the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant.
This grant will support self-employed workers affected by coronavirus restrictions for the period February 2021 until April 2021.
The fourth SEISS grant will be set at 80 per cent of three months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment, capped at £7,500. It will take into account 2019 to 2020 tax returns and will be open to those who became self-employed in tax year 2019 to 2020.
The rest of the eligibility criteria remain unchanged.
Your eligibility for the scheme will now be based on your submitted 2019 to 2020 tax return. This may also affect the amount of the fourth grant which could be higher or lower than previous grants you may have received.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFO.
WATCH: TRADER SUPPORT SERVICE (TSS) WEBINAR
Watch our latest webinar on the Trader Support Service (TSS) where Shanker Singham and Frank Dunsmuir from the TSS provided both our members and the wider business community with the latest updates and information about the support they provide traders.
Our webinar covered the latest information on:
- Supplementary Declarations
- Tariff Options (At Risk/Not at Risk, Rules of Origin, UK Trader Scheme and How to claim a waiver)
- Simplified Frontier Declaration for Controlled Goods
- Consignment First (Groupage Model)
- TSS Transit Service (GB to NI via IE)
- Indirect Exports (NI to GB via IE)
If your business is involved in trade between GB & NI, this webinar provides an important update for you.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH WEBINAR.
REMINDER: FREE DIGITAL BITESIZE WORKSHOP
INBOUND MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS
Join us for the first of three, Digital Bitesize Sessions for our members, designed by our member Niall Parfitt, Owner of Atlanticus Digital.
In the first of these members only workshops, Niall will cover the importance of developing a strong online presence. He will highlight a wide range of practical tools to support your digital strategy and provide you with learning resources.
There are a limited number of spaces still available for the first session of the series.
DATE: Friday 12th March 2021
TIME: 1pm – 2pm
OUTLINE:
► What is Inbound Marketing?
► Customer Personas
► Creating Web Pages
► Create Blog Articles
► Create and Schedule Social Media Posts
► Driving Leads to Your Website
► The Marketing Funnel
► Search Engine Optimisation
► Create Ad Campaigns
► View Metrics to Measure Performance
► Tools to Convert Leads
► Tools to Close Customers
► Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
► Measuring Return on Investment (ROI)
► How Newry Chamber Can Help Your Inbound Marketing Strategy
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
WEBINAR: PERSONAL DATA TRANSFERS
PREPARATIONS FOR NI BUSINESSES
Hosted by the Department for the Economy (DfE), with speakers from Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), this webinar will focus on the preparations NI businesses need to make in order to continue to receive personal data transfers from EU, including the Republic of Ireland.
DATE: Thursday 11th March 2021
TIME: 1pm – 2pm
Participation is FREE, but please note, you must register by Wednesday 10th March 2021 to attend the webinar.
This one hour session will provide the latest information on personal data transfers. The European Commission has recently published a draft positive adequacy decision relating to the UK. However, the decisions still awaits ratification and risks remain in relation to possible disruption for EU to UK data flows.
You will also have the opportunity to ask the ICO practical questions about personal data transfers.
This webinar is open to all businesses, business representative organisations and anyone with an interest in the changes to exchange of personal data and how businesses need to prepare for it.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.