Latest COVID-19 updates and guidance for businesses from Visit England
31st July 2020
Statement regarding the latest guidance for businesses from Visit Britain and Visit England is below.
We are pleased to share with you the latest updates for businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic:
£20 million fund announced to support small and medium businesses in England
The Government has announced a £20 million fund to support the recovery of small and medium-sized businesses in England.
Businesses will be eligible to receive grants between £1,000 - £5,000 to help them access technology, equipment or professional advice as they plan for recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The support will be fully funded by the Government from the England European Regional Development Fund and distributed through Growth Hubs, embedded in local areas across England.
Activities supported through the funding can include:
- One-to-many events providing guidance to respond to coronavirus.
- Grants (£1,000 - £5,000) to help businesses access specialist professional advice such as HR, accountants, legal, financial, IT and digital, and to purchase minor equipment to adapt or adopt new technology in order to continue to deliver business activity or diversify.
Share Government guidance with customers on planning a holiday in England
Businesses are asked to help raise awareness of the Government's guidance for tourists who fall ill whilst on holiday in England by directing your customers to the advice displayed on the VisitEngland website.
Dedicated copy for businesses to use to communicate with their customers is available on our website. You can include the information as part of the customer booking confirmation and adopt the messaging on your marketing channels – to help protect your staff and customers.
Eat Out to Help Out
If your business is taking part in the Government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme this August, you can start to claim back reimbursements from 7 August until 30 September.
If you want to include your business in the scheme you can register on the Eat Out to Help Out site.
Other Government updates
- Guidance for businesses and organisations on how to recognise, contain and report incidents of coronavirus (COVID-19) has been published. Action cards summarising this information have also been developed to cover a range of businesses and organisations to provide specific advice on the issues each type of organisation may face.
- An overview of the Government’s approach to managing local coronavirus outbreaks is available.
- Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia and St Vincent and the Grenadines have been added to the exempt list of countries and territories for travel into England.
- Guidance on how to inform HMRC if you have been overpaid or were not eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Join our free webinars
Business Recovery webinars
Sign up to our free Business Recovery webinars to help businesses get back on track following lockdown. The next webinar will focus on Creating Great Presentations in partnership with Buffalo 7, taking place on Tuesday 4 August at 10am. You can access recordings of past webinars on topics such as communicating with customers, sustainability and research insights.
Market update webinars
Register for our free market update webinar which will take a look at the North America inbound market on Wednesday 5 August at 14.30. Also access recent webinars on France and Germany.
Get practical advice and tips for your business on the Business Advice Hub.