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Other forms of financial assistance

The Chancellor has announced a package of measures to provide support for public services, individuals and businesses through this period of disruption caused by coronavirus.

Whilst grants and business rate relief will be administered by us, there is a range of other support provided by the government.

Find financial support

If your business has been (or is likely to be) affected, we urge you to seek advice. The government has supplied a series of resources to:

inform employers on the latest developments
give advice on protecting you and your employees

If you’re self-employed, Income Tax payments due in July 2020 under the Self-Assessment system are deferred to 31 January 2021. This is an automatic offer, so you do not need to apply for this deferral.

You need to contact the HMRC coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline if you cannot pay any other tax bills because of coronavirus.

The Recovery Loan Scheme supports access to finance for UK businesses as they grow and recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Businesses can apply for loans and overdrafts with the government providing a 70% guarantee to lenders.

The Chancellor has a £150m fund to allow communities to buy pubs, theatres, shops, or local sports clubs to prevent them from closing.

Most bidders will be able to access match funding of £250,000 but in some case, particularly for sports venues that have high costs, £1m will be available.

You can find out more about the Community Ownership Fund.

The government will launch a new UK-wide management programme, called Help to Grow, for 30,000 SMEs over three years.

It will be delivered through business schools with mentoring from professionals. It will run over 12 weeks with 90% of the costs subsidised by the government.

Another UK-wide scheme will also launch in December 2021 to help 100,000 SMEs to use software to improve productivity. It will offer a voucher covering up to half of the costs of approved software up to a maximum of £5,000, and free impartial advice, delivered through an online platform.

Arts venues in England, including museums and galleries, will be able to access £400m in funding through the Culture Recovery Fund to help them reopen.