Businesses on the peninsula are being urged by Babergh council to find out more about the support available to them during the Covid-19 crisis.

Many pubs, and other small and medium sized businesses on the peninsula have been put under enormous financial strain due to advice by the government for people to adopt social distancing due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Responding to the unprecedented impact of Covid-19, the Government has announced a package of measures to support businesses. These measures include:

• Cash grants, Small Business Rate Relief and Rural Rate Relief

• A Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme for businesses with a turnover of no more than £41 million

• Business rate relief for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors

• Refund to cover 14 days of statutory sick pay for businesses with less than 250 employees

• Dedicated HMRC hotline for businesses and self-employed individuals who need support with their tax affairs

More information on these range of measures is available on the Government's Covid-19 guidance for business website.

While councils wait for further details of these measures, including how to apply for relief and grants, Babergh is urging businesses to speak to advisers from the New Anglia Growth Hub who are trained to provide guidance on many of the issues being faced by businesses in our district.

District councillors Alastair McCraw, Jane Gould, Mary McClaren and Derek Davis are all contactable as individual peninsula ward members for initial advice and support.

In addition to Government packages, several private lenders are also making funds available including Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest. Both banks have teams dedicated to working with SMEs.

The range of support and information for businesses is changing regularly, however, during this difficult time, Babergh is committed to supporting businesses. We will continue to update information as it becomes available.