Welsh Government has announced that from 6pm on 4th December:
- restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs will be required to close and alcohol cannot be served at any time;
- entertainment venues and indoor tourist attractions will be required to close. This includes:
- cinemas
- bowling alley
- soft play centres
- skating rinks
- museums
- galleries
- bingo halls
- casinos
- amusement arcades
- theatres and concert halls
- nightclubs
For many Welsh BIDs, the latest announcement affects a high proportion of businesses in their BID areas.
There are a range of financial support options available for businesses;
- Eligible businesses impacted by COVID-19 should have access to the support available from the UK Government through the extended Job Retention Scheme on GOV.UK which will now continue until the end of March 2021.
- You may be able to access support through the Discretionary Assistance Fund.
- The Welsh Government is making a further £340m available through the Economic Resilience Fund to support businesses affected by the new changes to the regulations. It will include a £180m fund to support hospitality and tourism businesses.
- The new Welsh Government support is split into two funds: a £160m Restrictions Business Fund and a £180m Economic Resilience Fund grant scheme for hospitality and tourism.
The Restrictions Business Fund will enable eligible businesses in the hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors, which pay non-domestic rates (NDR), to access grants of up to £5,000.
Businesses not on the NDR system, will be able to continue to apply to local authorities for the Lockdown Discretionary Grant of up to £2,000.
In addition, hospitality, tourism and leisure businesses will be able to access a sector-specific Economic Resilience Fund grant scheme.
Small and medium sized businesses meeting the criteria could receive up to £100k. Depending on circumstances, larger Welsh-based businesses may receive up to a maximum of £150k.
More information about the funding and how it can be accessed is available on the Business Wales website.
Full Q & A guidance is available here: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-...
