Thursday February 17th – Coronavirus News Updates

Additional Restrictions Grant Discretionary grant scheme – Applications are now closed: Funds for the Additional Restrictions Grant Discretionary grant scheme have been allocated and applications for the scheme are now closed

UK NEWS UPDATES:

Train services down 20% after Covid slump
More than a fifth of train services that were running before the Covid pandemic have not returned, new data provided to the BBC shows. One month after work-from-home guidance was lifted, some commuters say they are struggling to get to work amid a lack of trains and sudden cancellations. Train operating companies said they are starting to bring back more services. But rail minister Wendy Morton could not guarantee that services would return to pre-pandemic levels. The government says it has spent more than £14bn propping up the railways after passenger numbers, and ticket revenue, collapsed during the Covid pandemic. Omicron dealt passenger numbers a fresh setback at the end of 2021, as people were again asked to work from home if they could. Timetables across the country were cut back again over the winter which train companies blamed on high levels of staff isolation.

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators, says 19,500 trains are now running per day, which is equivalent to 79% of overall pre-Covid services. It says that is expected to rise to 85% by the end of the month.

Changing Rooms: many homeowners repurpose rooms following pandemic
More than four in 10 owners have significantly repurposed part of their homes during the pandemic says Zoopla. Amongst the 41 per cent who said they had to make changes, more than half say they have entirely repurposed at least one bedroom whilst one in five households have lost multiple bedrooms. Zoopla calculates that this equates to a whopping 8,856,000 bedrooms that have been ‘lost’ amongst the UK’s 24m privately owned homes during the pandemic. With remote and hybrid working now set to be a mainstay for many, almost half of those who have made changes have created a home office – which equates to over 4.5m across the UK. And of these some 58 per cent say that they plan to permanently keep it.

REGIONAL & LOCAL NEWS:

Greater Manchester Mayor to champion levelling up opportunities at inaugural UK property conference
Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, his counterpart in the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, and colleagues from both cities, will champion the opportunities the levelling up agenda presents to the property sector at a new UK-based conference, The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF). UKREiiF will take place for the first time in Leeds from 17th to 19th May to connect people, places and businesses in order to accelerate the levelling up agenda and unlock sustainable, inclusive and transformational investment. Andy Burnham will be joined as a keynote speaker for the event by Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council as well a number of national colleagues

Advocate for your industry in a new digital careers prospectus for Stockport
Ahead of National Careers Week from 7th to 12th March, Stockport Jobs Match is calling for businesses in Stockport to advocate for the career opportunities in their industry. The free service, which matches job opportunities with people looking for working in the borough, is looking for local businesses to ‘sponsor’ a sector themed page on the Stockport Jobs Match Careers Hub, a new resource for schools and colleges being launched during National Careers Week. The employer will also feature within a Digital Careers Prospectus for Stockport.

LSH Auto Stockport delivers record sales for Mercedes Vans
Mercedes-Benz dealership operator, LSH Auto, has recorded record performance in 2021 for sales and aftersales support for Mercedes-Benz Vans customers. The business has doubled its sales of vans in 2021, from its dedicated Mercedes-Benz Vans sales teams based in its Stockport Autohaus, and in Birmingham, and has grown its Vans aftersales business by 350% over the same 12-month period.

Stockport residents contribute to approval of Novavax Covid vaccine
Novavax vaccine has been approved after over 1,600 Greater Manchester residents took part in clinical trials. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for use in the UK following rigorous clinical trials which saw over 1,600 volunteers from Greater Manchester take part, including those from Stockport. Stockport NHS Foundation Trust’s Research and Innovation team recruited local volunteers for the study. After trials supported by the National Institute for Health Research, MHRA analysis has concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.

Revenues rise for Northwest shoe manufacturer as M&S step into a deal
Revenues have risen at footwear brand Hotter as it agreed a partnership with Marks and Spencer to sell its products. In a trading update for the year ended 30 January 2022, its owner Unbound Group said Hotter sales were “significantly ahead” of last year with an increase of 16 per cent to approximately £51.9m from £44.5m. The company said Hotter’s performance, following its transformation to become a digitally led business, also continues to improve. Hotter’s revenues increased by ten per cent in Q4 compared to the same quarter in the prior year, achieving a gross margin above 61 per cent. The performance was achieved despite “headwinds” from Covid-19 and supply chain challenges, although it said the latter “improved and stablished” during the quarter.

BUSINESS:

HMRC – February’s Employer Bulletin
The February edition of the Employer Bulletin brings you all the latest HMRC updates and guidance to support employers, payroll professionals and agents. Included in this edition are important updates on changes to HMRC Employer Helpline processes; preparing for your last Full Payment Submission or Employer Payment Summary; reporting expenses and benefits and grossing up benefits and expenses through payroll; registering for Trader Support Service; preparing for Making Tax Digital for VAT – are you ready?

COMMUNITY:

COVID-19 vaccination: resources for children aged 5 to 11 years
Information for parents of eligible at-risk children aged 5 to 11 years on COVID-19 vaccination.

COVID-19 vaccination: easy-read resources for children and young people
Easy-read guides providing information on coronavirus (COVID-19) and vaccination – added an easy-read guide and leaflet for at-risk children and young people aged 5 to 11 years.

EDUCATION:

Pupils’ progress in the 2020 to 2021 academic year
Research reports presenting findings from analysis into the progress pupils have made during the 2020 to 2021 academic year – added revised version of ‘Understanding progress in the 2020 to 2021 academic year: findings from the summer term and summary of all previous findings’, with a correction to Table 17: Estimated learning loss in secondary reading, in months, for figures 3.5 and 3.8.

Delivery of air cleaning units until 11 February 2022
Summary of air cleaning unit deliveries to state-funded education?settings, including early years, schools and further education providers up to 11 February 2022.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) workforce fund for colleges
The COVID-19 workforce fund has been extended to help eligible settings cover the cost of workforce absences experienced from 22 November 2021 until Friday 8 April 2022.

HEALTH & WELLBEING:

Wider impacts of COVID-19 on health monitoring tool
National monitoring tool that brings together metrics to assess the wider impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) on health.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey headline results, UK: 16 February 2022
An interim release of latest data from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection survey containing high level estimates for?England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.?This survey is being delivered in partnership with the University of Oxford, University of Manchester, UK Health Security Agency and?Wellcome?Trust. This study is jointly led by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) working with the University of Oxford and Lighthouse laboratory to collect and test samples. These headline results are a temporary publication presented in advance of our fuller, regular weekly bulletin issued at midday each Friday.

JCVI updates advice on vaccinations for 5 to 11 age group
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has updated its vaccination advice for children aged 5 to 11, with a view to increasing protection against potential future waves of coronavirus (COVID-19).

COVID-19 vaccination: vaccine product information
Information on the presentation, doses and storage of COVID-19 vaccines – updated vaccine product information; updated Which COVID-19 vaccine? and new Which Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine? posters.

COVID-19 vaccination programme
Documents relating to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme – added JCVI update on advice for COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 5 to 11.

MANUFACTURING:

Reckitt and Nestle warn of price hikes as costs mount
KitKat and Nescafe-maker Nestle has warned it will increase the prices of its products due to the growing cost of producing its goods. Mark Schneider, boss of the food group, said it was “safe assumption” that prices would rise this year.

He said there was “no place” in the company that was “exempt of inflation”.

Reckitt Benckiser, the consumer goods company behind Durex and Dettol, also said prices would rise, but added it hoped to absorb most of the increases.

Reckitt’s costs rose 11% in 2021, but chief executive Laxman Narasimhan said that wouldn’t mean prices rising by that amount, as the company had ways to “mitigate and manage pricing”

TRAVEL:

Barbados outlines new protocols as curfew lifted
On Monday (14 February) the Caribbean Island dropped its 12am to 5am curfew and a new directive put in place offering more relaxed Covid protocols. There is now no restriction of beach activity and parks for locals and tourists, hiking group have increased size to 30 people and pleasure craft and private boats can sail at 100% passenger capacity. Bridgetown’s Kensington Oval can host cricket matches with 80% crowd capacity, while 6ft social distancing rules are no longer being enforced, except when exercising in groups without wearing a mask. The rule changes come as public health officials report around 70% of eligible citizens have received at least one dose of Covid vaccine.

Vietnam reopens to tourists from March
Tour operator sources and the state-run Vietnam News Agency have said the country will reopen three months earlier than originally planned for vaccinated tourists. According to specialist operator InsideAsia Tours, initial requirements are for clients over 12 to be fully vaccinated with a vaccine passport and to have had their most recent dose between 14 days and six months prior to departure. All clients over two must have a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to arrival, stay in an isolation hotel and take an antigen test within the first 24 hours.

GOV & BBC UK daily coronavirus data:

There have been 18 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK and 160,000 people have died, government figures show. Over 52.5 million people have now received a first dose of the vaccine, 91% of people in the UK aged 12 and over. More than 48 million, 85% have had their second and more than 37 million, 66% have had a booster.

*Government case figures now include people in England and Northern Ireland who have tested positive for a second time – after at least a 90-day gap – rather than just first infections.

Total UK Cases: 18,447,706 positive tests
Latest UK daily figure: 54,218 new cases
Number in UK hospital: 12,092 (232 less than on previous day)
New deaths across UK: 199
Total UK deaths: 160,038
England Cases per 100,000: 576
R number in UK: 0.8-1.1

Vaccine data:

Total 1^st doses given: 52,531,292 – 91% of UK aged 12+
Total 2^nd doses: 85%
Daily 1^st doses: 9,091
Daily 2nd doses: 19,482
Daily Booster doses: 57,802

The R value and growth rate
The latest reproduction number (R) and growth rate of coronavirus (COVID-19).
The R range for England is 0.8 to 1.0; the growth rate for England is -3% to +0% per day as of 11 February

Latest Stockport coronavirus data:

Total Stockport cases: 86,827 to 16 February
Cases in the latest week: 1,199 (730 less compared with previous week)
Total deaths: 848 to February 4th
Cases per 100,000: 408 per 100,000 (6 to 12 Feb)

Stockport vaccine data:

1^st dose: 86% of over 12s to 9 February
2^nd dose: 82%
3^rd / booster dose: 65%

Covid-19 Webinars:

Brexit Webinars:

Exporting: Actions you need to take now: An overview of the actions you need to take now before you export goods from Great Britain to the EU and move goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Key processes include – staged border controls, zero-rated VAT, customs declaration, using an intermediary as well as licences, certificates, and authorisations. Please register to take part if you’re planning to export.

Trader responsibilities when using an intermediary: You now need to complete import or export declarations to trade goods with the EU. These are complex and a lot of businesses choose to use an intermediary to do these for them. This webinar explains your responsibilities as a trader if you choose to use an intermediary. Please register to take part if you’re planning to import or export.

What are customs import declarations?: If you import goods, you now need to make customs import declarations on controlled goods and all goods by the end of June. This webinar will help you understand what they are in more detail. This includes what is needed for simplified declarations, supplementary declarations, how to make them, and delayed import declarations. Please register to take part if you’re planning to import.

Importing: Staged controls and how to prepare to use them: This webinar will walk you through the three stages of the new border controls introduced on 1?? ?January?? ?2021, and what actions you need to take for each stage. Please register to take part if you’re planning to import.

LATEST LINKS:

Home workers can claim £26 tax relief for job expenses
If you’ve asked your employees to work from home, and you’ve not reimbursed them already, your employees may be entitled to claim tax relief on additional household expenses they’ve incurred, such as heating and lighting.

New hotline launched to report COVID fraudsters
A new hotline has been launched to stop fraudsters illegally targeting COVID stimulus schemes.

If you would like to register your interest in creating one or more Kickstart Job, please complete the Kickstart Employer Enquiry Form and a member of the Council’s Kickstart Team will contact you to explain more.

Visit the Stockport Council website to report details of any outbreaks online.
https://www.stockport.gov.uk/coronavirus-in-stockport/report-a-coronavirus-outbreak

Opening times for Stockport Council Coronavirus Helpline
The helpline for vulnerable people across Stockport can now be accessed through new opening times by calling 0161 217 6046:
• Monday – Thursday from 9am to 5pm
• Friday from 9am to 4.30pm
• Saturdays from 10am to 1pm
At busy times, residents are automatically offered a call-back from one of our call handlers.

New tools and resources available from Acas:
Redundancy letter templates
Redundancy process map

Acas have also contributed to the development of a new return to work toolkit in partnership with SOM, CIPD, BITC and Mind.

Business Support in Stockport – a centre pool of information to support business owners in Stockport:
www.skbusinessrecovery.co.uk

Government – Guidance on Returning to Work safely
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19

Stockport Council’s FREE job matching website helps support employers with vacancies and individuals across the Stockport borough who are looking for work. The service, Stockport Jobs Match, will help to connect employers who have urgent temporary or permanent vacancies with applicants who are immediately available and in need of employment. The website also helps signpost individuals to available support services and information. www.stockport-jobsmatch.co.uk

Stockport Council – Health & Mental Well-being https://www.stockport.gov.uk/showcase/coronavirus

Government – Financial Support
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – online claims portal open

Government – Business Support:
Government launches new coronavirus business support finder tool

Government – Business Support Hub:
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support

Government – IT safety support:
Government Warnings Over Coronavirus Scams – Here’s How to Protect Yourself

Government – Financial Support:
HMRC has published guidance on how it will work out income and profits for the self-employed or those in a partnership who have lost profits due to coronavirus.

Government – Business Support: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19

Government – Financial Support: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding

Government – Business Support:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses

Gov.uk: Maintaining Educational Provision: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

Business Growth Hub:
www.businessgrowthhub.com/coronavirus https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/coronavirus/resources/2020/03/coronavirus-business-support-webinar-series

Employment – Useful information for the Self-Employed:

News and Guidance for the self-employed:
Concerned how Coronavirus might impact you and your business?
Please get in touch with Enterprising You and you will be connected to someone who can help.

You can also access information and guidance including the latest Government updates via www.businessgrowthhub.com/coronavirus

Can you claim back Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay in the Rebate Scheme
From Tuesday 26 May 2020, small and medium-sized employers, with fewer than 250 employees, will be able to apply to recover the costs of paying coronavirus-related Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) payments they have made to their employees.

Health updates:

Health – updates from NHS
https://www.england.nhs.uk/news/

Health – Dedicated helpline to support vulnerable residents in Stockport:
Support can be accessed by calling 0161 217 6046 Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm.

Health – Dedicated health & wellbeing services:
24/7 mental health helpline & safe haven for anyone over the age of 18 in Stockport (0800 138 7276).

Health – An Emotional Wellbeing Hub which provides information, advice, and guidance for anyone up to the age of 25 for emotional wellbeing and mental health concerns. 0161 217 6028 – 8.30am-5pm Mon – Thurs 8.30am-4.30pm on Friday.

Community – Guidance for businesses seeking to help voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
How businesses can offer services, funds and volunteers to civil society during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Find out more information here.