- New Brexit Business Readiness Events Roadshow gets underway as part of the 'Get Ready for Brexit' campaign
- Advisors from all relevant government departments will be at each event to provide practical advice and support to local businesses
- Over 30 events spanning the UK will run for five weeks
Government advisors from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Home Office, HMRC, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will be on hand for businesses to ask questions and receive advice on a range of areas where they may need to make changes to get ready for Brexit ahead of 31 October. We are encouraging businesses to make sure they are fully prepared and advice will include the importing and exporting of goods, exporting services, employing EU citizens and businesses that transfer data, and the extra support available in the local area.
The free events will combine a keynote address from senior government officials, advice stands and in-depth sessions to give businesses the information they need to get ready for Brexit. These will run over the next five weeks, with the first events taking place in Northampton on 16 September, Nottingham on 17 September, Swindon on 19 September and London on 20 September.
Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said:
The UK will be leaving the EU on 31 October and my number one priority is ensuring businesses have the help they need to get ready for Brexit and take advantage of the opportunities beyond.
The whole of government is stepping up a gear and increasing the pace of our preparations. Businesses have told us that they also want more face to face support and we are listening.
These local events will provide the advice they need from all relevant government teams in one place. I encourage any business who wants more information about what they need to do to attend.
Other activity to enable preparations by businesses includes:
- An additional £2.1bn for Brexit preparations, doubling funding for this year - HMT total funding for Brexit is £6.3 billion. This includes £108 million to support businesses to get ready.
- Making £10m available to business groups and trade associations to help them to help businesses prepare for Brexit - the 'Brexit Readiness Fund'.
- Setting up a new Business Finance Council to ensure small businesses get the working capital and investment they need. This is made up of senior representatives from the UK's leading banks and alternative lenders, co-chaired by the Business Secretary and HMT.
- Making £1.3 billion available to lenders in guarantee schemes through the government-owned British Business Bank, so they can enable their SME customers to invest in capital, increase export capabilities and manage cashflow. The British Business Bank is already providing over £6.6billion of finance to almost 90,000 SMEs.
- Removing a key administrative burden for businesses who trade with the EU by auto-enrolling nearly 90,000 VAT-registered businesses with an essential Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) trading number. We urge non-VAT registered businesses to register for an EORI on GOV.UK - the process takes less than 10 minutes.
- Securing agreements which cover £89 billion worth of trade and provide certainty for businesses trading with countries around the world. This has moved from £39 billion since March.
- Advice stands will cover issues ranging from the importing and exporting of goods, exporting services, employing EU citizens and businesses that transfer data, to the support available in the local area. Government advisors will be on hand from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Home Office, HMRC, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Notes
- Businesses are urged to search "Brexit Business Readiness Event" to register to attend
- The website also provides up to date information on locations and venues for events
- In most locations, sessions will run in the morning and the afternoon
- This event is part of the largest single communications and engagement campaign undertaken by the UK government to get people ready for Brexit. More details here
Wider support for business
- Business Ministers have also been hosting national and regional roundtables to engage with businesses on a regular basis.
- A new Business Finance Council, chaired by the Business Secretary, will bring together leading lenders to ensure small businesses get the working capital and investment they need
- There is £1.3 billion available to lenders in guarantee schemes through the government-owned British Business Bank, so they can enable their SME customers to invest in capital, increase export capabilities and manage cashflow. And the British Business Bank is currently supporting over £6.6billion of finance to almost 90,000 smaller businesses nationwide
- HMRC recently announced it is auto-enrolling 88,000 VAT-registered businesses for EORI numbers so they can continue to trade with their customers in the EU after 31 October.
- The government has published approximately 750 pieces of communications on No Deal since August 2018, including over 100 technical notices explaining to businesses and citizens what they need to do to prepare.
