Author: Lesley Webb

Timberscombe School Friday News 27.11.20  Including a link to a wonderful virtual tour of the school.

Prayer Diary December 2020

Advent Reflection 2020 Week 1

Update from Claire’s Kitchen:

Claire’s Kitchen Take Away Deliveries

Be aware, the criteria are stricter. It’s no longer just about being ‘adversely affected’ – now, you must expect a ‘significant reduction in profits’

On Mon, the third of four Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants opens for applications. It covers the 1 Nov-31 Jan period and the amount you can claim has increased since it was first announced – it’s now 80% of avg monthly trading profits over 3mths, capped at £7,500. Yet this time the application criteria are stricter, while those excluded from the first two grants are sadly still excluded. In brief:

• New. This time you must believe you’ll have a “significant reduction” in profits. This can be for one of two reasons – either because of “reduced demand, activity or capacity” OR you’re temporarily unable to trade. We’ve put some of these phrases in quote marks as that’s how the Govt sums it up but there’s lots more key detail – see Can I claim the third grant? for full help.
  
  This is very different from grants 1 and 2, which only required you to have been “adversely affected”. For example, you can’t claim grant 3 if the only impact is increased costs for your business, eg, buying face masks and cleaning supplies. Yet there are still a wide range of scenarios where you may be able to claim, eg, if you’re instructed to self-isolate and it significantly reduces profits.
  
• Only those who were eligible to apply for the first two grants are eligible for the third. In a nutshell, you must have filed a tax return for 2018/19, your avg trading profit must be no more than £50,000/yr, and 50%+ of your income must come from self-employment. See full eligibility help.
  
• Applications open from Mon – but you’re given a slot which could be a few days after. HM Revenue & Customs is writing by Mon to all those potentially eligible to claim. To help its systems cope, you’ll be given a slot between Mon 30 Nov and Fri 4 Dec to apply, though if you miss it you’ve until 29 Jan to claim. You do it via the Govt claims portal and will need your self-assessment unique taxpayer reference, national insurance number, Govt Gateway user ID and password, and bank details. See full info on how to apply.

Dunster Benefice Newsletter 20th November 2020

Timberscombe School Friday News 20.11.20

The Local Restrictions Support Grant

Eligible businesses in the Somerset West and Taunton area will be able to apply for The Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) from today, Friday 20 November.

The LRSG can be claimed by businesses which occupy business rated premises and were required by law to close for 28 days due to national lockdown restrictions.

If your business is eligible and is located in property with a rateable value, you will receive a fixed cash grant of either £1,334, £2,000 or £3,000 per 28-day qualifying restriction period. The amounts vary depending on the rateable value of the occupied property. Businesses with more than one qualifying property will be eligible for more than one grant.

The application process can be accessed through the Council’s Covid-19 business pages where you can also find SWTs grant information –

https://www.somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-and-information/

The Council’s Additional Restrictions Grant will also provide support for other businesses that have been significantly impacted by the current national restrictions. This second scheme, which is expected to open later in November, will be accessible from the same page of the Council’s website. Businesses will need to demonstrate a minimum of a 25% loss of trade to qualify as well as satisfying other criteria which will be made available on the website. A further announcement will be made when the scheme goes live.

The Government has published details of the businesses which must close. Further Government information can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/closing-certain-businesses-and-venues-in-england

OUR NEW WEBSITE IS LIVE! We’re aiming to put the spotlight on Somerset’s independents and connect the community of Somerset and visitors to the County, with local businesses via our new website and interactive map listing service which launched this week.  We’re welcoming independents from various sectors to join us on our new journey as we make Shop Somerset the go-to resource for shoppers looking to support local and shop independent. Interested in supporting local or keen to find out whose close to home? You can now type in your postcode to find listed businesses in your area and use our interactive map to locate them via mobile or desktop. If you own or work for an independent business then we’d love to hear from you through our registration form.  We hope you’ll join the Shop Somerset Movement – we can’t wait to welcome you!

Find us on social media… #shopsomerset

HMRC Scam Emails

We have been made aware of a couple recent scam emails that are again going around claiming to represent HMRC. The attached file is for your information and awareness and will show you what to look out for, but as a rule HMRC will not give money away unless it has been claimed for.

Also do please be aware of any unexpected email that suggests you may have had a failed delivery, particularly this time of year and never part with any personal information.

Stay safe.

scam-emails-hmrc.pdf