Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub
The Business Growth Hub is a community of specialists with a passion to help businesses across Greater Manchester to realise their ambitions. Since 2011, they have supported more than 15,000 businesses across GM. They support businesses at all stages of their growth journey with a broad range of services. They offer expert one-to-one and peer-to-peer business support, events, specialist programmes, funding and much more. Most of the support on offer is fully-funded and is provided at no direct cost to your business.
Energy Bills Support
A new 6-month scheme for businesses and other non-domestic energy users (including charities and public sector organisations like schools) will be offered support as is being provided for consumers. After this initial 6-month scheme, the government will provide ongoing focused support for vulnerable industries. While the majority of UK non-domestic customers are on fixed price energy deals, some are not. Businesses did not benefit from the Ofgem price cap and there was a risk that some would fall through the gap, unable to fix their energy price and unable to access the kind of support we are making available to households.There will be a review in 3 months’ time to consider where this should be targeted to make sure those most in need get support.’’
Energy bills support factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Tameside Whole of Place App.
Tameside Council have used the Welcome Back fund to procure the dscvr app for the borough’s town centres. Awarded to local authorities to encourage visitors and residents safely back into town centres, the Welcome Back fund has allowed Tameside to procure the app so our businesses can use it free of charge.
dscvr is a “whole of place” digital app, designed to help local businesses, services and venues to promote their offers, and support local residents to safely return to their town centres by providing information on all the activities in their local towns. By linking residents and businesses, and showcasing each town’s unique offers, dscvr has successfully increased footfall and dwell time in town and city centre across the country. A short summary of the app can be seen here.
To find out more about how you can get your business on the app contact Emilia Quinn on emilia.quinn@dscvr-app.com
Tameside Business Resilience Clinic
The Tameside Business Resilience Clinic has now launched with the aim of facilitating free advice and support to Micro and SME businesses across Tameside. The new clinic will operate across a range of platforms to make it easy for businesses to access, using webinars, emails and phone calls by appointment. The support provided includes signposting to existing help from the Business Growth Hub, such as online workshops or webinars; matching relevant professionals like managing directors, human resources specialists and supply managers to local businesses.
To find out more information and to register for support click here: Tameside Business Resilience Clinic
Skills for Growth
SME Support is a fully funded skills consultation service tailored to help upskill employees, improve productivity and drive business growth. Their expert skills consultants work at your pace to help you grow your business by identifying skills gaps, developing your talent and enhancing your team’s performance.
Tameside Libraries information Service - Business Information
Are you looking for Business Information? If so, Tameside Libraries Information Service can help. We are a Business and Intellectual Property Centre offering a wide range of information available to those looking for Business Information. Whether you’re setting up a new Business, expanding an existing Business, investigating the competition or marketing your Business, Tameside Libraries Information Service can help. We offer a friendly staff assisted service providing access to both print and online resources to help you with your business enquiry.
Build A Business in GM Libraries
Build A Business is an innovative new project aimed at small businesses, entrepreneurs and anyone thinking of starting their own business. It’s running in libraries across 8 Greater Manchester authorities, offering tailored help to support new businesses. From Artisan Baker to Zumba Instructor, Build A Business can help!
Build a Business in GM Libraries is part funded by the European Union, with a grant of £1.3 million from ERDF funding, and managed by Manchester City Council. The project will run from January 2021-June 2023.
GMCA’s new Foundational Economy Innovation Fund
Formal applications are now open for the GMCA’s new Foundational Economy Innovation Fund.
The fund will provide grants and support for businesses and organisations in Greater Manchester’s “foundational” or “everyday” economy to trial innovative new ideas and improved ways of working.
The grant funding will be in 2 phases: Phase 1 will provide £10,000 grants for up to 40 projects to develop and test innovations and ideas. This will be followed by Phase 2 where £60,000 grants will be available for up to 10 projects to develop the best ideas from Phase 1. Participants will receive support on innovation and be invited to join a new community of innovators. Applications are at this stage open for stage 1 funding.
The “foundational economy” is the “everyday economy”, or the “essential economy” – the businesses we all rely on for our daily needs.
Starting with four sectors and asking people who run businesses or enterprises in these sectors, work with the sectors, or have solutions that can be used in these sectors to apply. These sectors are:
- Health and Social Care
- Early Education and Childcare
- Retail and Personal Services
- Hospitality and Leisure
How To Apply
If you wish to apply, first please read in full the Foundational Economy Innovation Fund Application Pack. This includes all the relevant information you need to apply, including details regarding the sort of projects this fund will, and will not, support. You can access the application pack via this link.
To apply for the fund please fill out the application form via this link.
You can also find additional information on the GMCA website.
Please note that if you participated in the expression of interest phase and received feedback on an idea for a potential application you are neither at an advantage, or disadvantage, regarding a formal application. Applications will be judged exclusively on information provided in the formal application form and anybody is welcome to apply.
The deadline for applications will be 23:59 on 12/03/2023
If you have any questions or queries, please contact gmcaeconomy@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk
Full Customs Declarations for EU Trade
From the 1st of January 2022 businesses trading with the EU will need to make full customs declarations on their imports and exports.
Full step-by-step guidance on the process has been published by HMRC:
Importing goods into the UK
Exporting goods from the UK
Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan
Like many areas across the country, Greater Manchester has illegal levels of air pollution on local roads across all ten local authority areas. Poor air quality affects everyone’s health, particularly the most vulnerable people in society. It contributes to nearly 1,200 premature deaths in GM every year.
Under government direction, the GM local authorities worked together to produce a Clean Air Plan to tackle harmful air pollution, including a GM-wide category C charging Clean Air Zone. Government has agreed that the Greater Manchester charging Clean Air Zone will not go ahead as planned on 30 May 2022.
Redundancy Support
Tameside Council’s Redundancy Support page has been created to enable individuals and employers to easily access support, training and guidance. If you are an employer who needs to make redundancies or an individual who is at risk or has been made redundant then help and support is available to help you through this challenging time.
Make Mental Health Your Business
During this challenging time ‘Make Mental Health Your Business’ by knowing what support is available for everyone in your business including yourself. The following links give you easy access to a wealth of mental health and wellbeing support:
Tameside & Glossop Mental Health Support including Mental Health Support for Staff – TGMH Support
Mental Health Foundation, Mental Health in the Workplace – MHF Support
Mental Health at Work, Your first stop for better Mental Health at Work – MH@W Support
Help to Grow Scheme – Management and Digital support
– Discounted training and vouchers for digital tools.