Rishi Sunak has today announced a change in the winter support schemes.

The government have announced a raft of new financial measures to help support businesses through the pandemic.

To read these changes in detail please visit our coronavirus business support hub.

Just when you thought it could not get worse, business rates return in April

With the current Pandemic, there has been a one-year business rates holiday for retail and hospitality. April is quickly approaching, and the Government have been keeping quiet about if they are going to extend this again.

Those affected have been waiting nervously on the Governments decision and the Valuation Office Agency has been inundated with over 170,000 appeals against their rates.

Many small businesses just need an answer to be reassured and to have enough time to put a plan in place.

For more information, click here.

NatWest and ITV launch £150,000 TV ad prize for small businesses

Are you a small business owner and want to get your amazing business known to the world?

Do not miss this opportunity of a lifetime! 3 businesses will be in with the chance of winning their own professionally produced TV advert.

NatWest will also be providing 50 additional support packages to the top entrants. This will include places on the NatWest Accelerator programme for entrepreneurs, one to one coaching sessions and advertising spend for LinkedIn.

To enter click here.

Furlough fraudsters ‘may have stolen more than £3bn.’

Whilst we have worked hard to help all of our clients to correctly use the Furlough scheme criminal gangs and a minority of employers could have stolen more than £3bn of Furlough money suggests an article written by BBC News.

Reports suggest there have been many fraudulent cases where companies have claimed for workers, not on Furlough — in some cases, using fake companies to redeem the money.

The Government, however, have defended the scheme describing it as a lifeline during the lockdown. With the scheme being created so quickly, there was always going to be some fraud in the scheme. This must have been deemed an acceptable risk to the chancellor.

For more information, click here.