News

Government announces £4.6 billion in new lockdown grants to ‘support businesses and protect jobs’

It continues to form part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's #PlanForJobs.

The Manc The Manc - 5th January 2021
Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

The UK government has announced this morning that businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000.

It comes as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak unveils his latest £4.6 billion package to “support businesses and protect jobs” as the country enters into another national lockdown today following the Prime Minister’s announcement last night that these business will be closed until at least February half-term in order to help control the virus.

These new grants – together with existing support already in place and continuing the form part of the #PlanForJobs – aims to “provide [these businesses] with certainty through the Spring period”.

The allocated funds are set to be provided on “a per-property basis” to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK.

The government has confirmed that a further £594 million is also being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support other businesses that are not eligible for the grants but might still be affected by the restrictions.

ADVERTISEMENT

Businesses are asked to apply to their Local Authorities for support.

These new one-off grants also come in addition to the “billions of existing business support”, which include grants worth up to £3,000 for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses once they reopen.

ADVERTISEMENT

Announcing the new support package today, Mr Sunak said: “The new strain of the virus presents us all with a huge challenge, and whilst the vaccine is being rolled out, we have needed to tighten restrictions further.

“Throughout the pandemic we’ve taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods and today we’re announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the Spring.

“This will help businesses to get through the months ahead,

ADVERTISEMENT

“And crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen.”

You can find more information regarding the new £4.6 billion support package here.

___

For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.

#StayHome

News

Today is your last day to register to vote in Greater Manchester’s local and mayoral elections

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Today is your last day to register to vote in Greater Manchester’s local and mayoral elections, as the deadline ends at midnight tonight.

With less than a month to go until the big election day arrives, residents across the Greater Manchester region are being urged to make sure they’re registered to vote and have their voter photo ID ready, so that they’re able to head to the polls and have their say on who makes the important decisions that affect them.  

In order to vote in the local and mayoral elections on Thursday 2 May, Greater Manchester residents must register before midnight tonight (Tuesday 16 April).

It takes just five minutes to apply on the gov.uk website.

This year, residents across Greater Manchester will be voting in two elections, with residents in Salford voting in three elections.

These are for the Mayor of Greater Manchester Combined Authority – who is a major figure in the political life of the city-region, with unique powers and responsibilities – and for local Councillors, who are elected to represent their local area and residents, and get to contribute to the development of local policies too.

On top of this, Salford residents will also be voting for The Salford City Mayor too, who is Salford’s political, strategic, and community leader, and has overall responsibility for the delivery of all council services.

In case you aren’t quite up to speed, nominations for Mayor candidates closed on Friday 5 April, and that means there’s a total of six people standing in the third election for the Mayor of Greater Manchester – with current Mayor, Labour and Co-operative’s, Andy Burnham, being one of them.

The candidates nominated to stand in the election for the Mayor for Greater Manchester Combined Authority are:

  • Jake Austin (Liberal Democrats)
  • Dan Barker (Reform UK)
  • Nick Buckley (Independent)
  • Andy Burnham (Labour and Co-operative)
  • Laura Evans (The Conservative Party
  • Hannah Kathrine Spencer (Green Party)
Today is your last day to register to vote in Greater Manchester’s local and mayoral elections / Credit: Manchester City Council | gov.uk

As always, there are different ways to vote in the elections next month.

You can either do so at your local polling station, by post, or by proxy – which means appointing someone to vote on your behalf – with the deadline to apply for a postal vote in these elections being 5pm this Wednesday (17 April), and the deadline for applying for a proxy vote being 5pm on Wednesday 24 April.

As mentioned, residents will need to show a valid form of photo ID at the polling station, such as a passport, driving licence, some types of bus pass or proof of age card, or a free Voter Authority Certificate.

According to GMCA, every registered voter in Greater Manchester will have started to receive an election booklet explaining more about the election, and election addresses prepared by each of the candidates, in the post from yesterday (Monday 15 April), as required by law.

Read more:

More information about the elections taking place in Greater Manchester, including information about voter ID, registering to vote, and applying for a postal or proxy vote, can be found at www.gmelects.org.uk.

Featured Image – gov.uk

News

Manchester United, GMP, and the Council is clamping down on ‘illegal’ matchday parking at Old Trafford

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester United has joined forces with police and the local Council to take action on a number of offences outside Old Trafford on match days.

This includes “illegal” parking, street trading, and so much more.

The football club teamed up with its partners, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Trafford Council, for another day of action to clampdown on a wide range of offences taking place outside its home stadium ahead of the team’s hotly-anticipated Premier League match against fierce local rivals, Liverpool, on Sunday 7 April.

Police and officers from the Council’s Regulatory Services Team tackled a number of issues on the day of action.

These included what was described as ‘rogue trading’ and ‘illegal street trading’, taxis illegally plying for hire or causing obstructions, and illegal parking, as well as the monitoring of food hygiene at food stands outside the stadium.

As part of this particular day of action – which followed a similar event outside Old Trafford on 24 February, ahead of United’s game against Fulham – Council officers and GMP staff spoke to more than 100 licensed taxis and hackney carriage drivers about illegal parking and illegally plying for hire, and 19 Fixed Penalty Notices were handed out to vehicles parked illegally on a clearway outside the ground.

Licensing and trading standards officers, along with Manchester United’s brand protection team, also spoke with all of the licensed pitches and street traders/peddlers outside the stadium, and a total of 73 products were removed for breaking rules under the Trade Marks Act.

Further legal action is set to be taken against some traders who were committing offences and were obstructive towards Council officers who were trying to carry out their tasks, according to Trafford Council.

Manchester United, GMP, and Council to clampdown on ‘illegal’ matchday parking at Old Trafford / Credit: GMP Stretford

“Our partnership work with Trafford Council is vital in being able to tackle illegal street trading and parking issues,” a spokesperson for GMP said in a statement following the day of action.

“We will continue to work with our partners to ensure a safe matchday experience, both inside and out of the stadium, for all those attending the ground.”

Jim Liggett, who is the Director of Operations at Manchester United, also explained that the club was “pleased” to have been able to join forces with Trafford Council and GMP on their day of action to clampdown on “illegal behaviour” outside Old Trafford.

Read more:

He added: “We remain committed to supporting the local authorities as we seek to collectively reduce any impact matches at Old Trafford may have on the community around the stadium.”

Featured Image – Trafford Council

More News

Manchester

Hundreds of Manchester Arena attack survivors are suing MI5

Footballer Joe Thompson diagnosed with cancer for the third time

News

Former Rochdale and Man United academy product Joe Thompson diagnosed with cancer for the third time

Business

Manchester Airport reveals shocking list of 400 items confiscated by security in just one morning

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches