Office for Life Sciences Bulletin - 7th August 2020

Office for Life Sciences Bulletin – 7 August 2020

OLS Introduction The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) is a joint unit between the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

This bulletin aims to keep the life sciences sector up to date on the latest guidance whilst the UK is in the transition period and during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, providing you with information from Government to help your members and networks prepare.

If you would like to be added to the distribution list, please email Anisha.Visram@beis.gov.uk Northern Ireland

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, have today announced a major £650m package of investment to help traders in Northern Ireland, and support peace, prosperity and reconciliation projects on the island of Ireland. Please find the announcement here.

At the centre of this package is a new, free-to-use Trader Support Service (TSS) - an end-toend support service to deal with import and safety and security declarations on behalf of traders. Please find more information on the TSS here.

Cabinet Office have also published guidance on moving goods under the Northern Ireland Protocol, which provides support for businesses engaging in new processes under the Northern Ireland protocol. Please find the guidance here.

REMDINDER – UK Internal Market Consultation The UK government is consulting on new measures to protect internal trade within the UK when powers return from the EU in January 2021. A consultation is open until 13 August, sourcing views from businesses across all 4 nations of the UK. You can find and respond to the consultation here.

Letter to medicines suppliers A letter by Steve Oldfield, Chief Commercial Officer, on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), sets out the government’s plan and requests of industry and the wider supply chain ahead of the end of the transition period to help ensure the continuity of supply of medical goods into and out of the UK. Please find it here.

Roll out of two new rapid Coronavirus tests ahead of winter Millions of new rapid coronavirus tests will be rolled out across NHS hospitals, care homes and labs from next week, detecting both COVID-19 and other winter viruses such as flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The tests do not require a trained health professional to operate them, meaning they can be rolled out in more non-clinical settings. Please find more information here.

Events Government departments are hosting a series of free webinars to help businesses understand the support available. Keep up to date with all the latest available webinars here, and watch past HMRC videos here.

Various dates – Coronavirus COVID-19 Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme Various dates – Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) Various dates – HMRC webinar on changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, sets out how employers will be affected, flexible furloughing, key dates and support available. Sign up here.

Workforce NEW – From Saturday 1 August, shielding guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable was paused across England. This means those who have been shielding over the course of the pandemic will no longer be advised to do so, and can begin to go back to work as long as the sites are COVID-secure. The easing of restrictions will not apply for those currently shielding in: Blackburn with Darwen; Blaby and Charnwood; Luton; Leicester City; Wigston; and Oadby. Find out more here.

NEW – Guidance has been updated with details about how to ask HMRC to verify if having a new child affected your eligibility for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

NEW – Guidance on applications for the Health and Care Visa (tier 2) has been published, please find more information here.

NEW – Working parents or carers who are eligible for Tax-Free Childcare or 30 hours free childcare but have temporarily fallen below the minimum income requirement as a result of the pandemic will continue to receive financial support until 31 October 2020. Please find more information here.

UPDATED – Guidance on how to Calculate how much you can claim using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been updated with a new section on how to calculate your claim for fixed pay employees who have worked enough overtime to have a significant impact on the amount you need to claim. Please find out more here.

UPDATED – Guidance updated to reflect that if a furloughed employee is made redundant they're entitled to receive redundancy pay based on their normal wage and not on the reduced furlough rate. Please find out more here.

Support to business NEW – As a result of government and industry lobbying of the European Commission, a change to EU State Aid rules means more small businesses can access government-backed loans. Small and micro businesses – fewer than 50 employees and turnover less than £9 million – will be exempt from elements of the ‘undertaking in difficulty’ test and are now eligible for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Please find more information here.

NEW – The Small Business Leadership Programme has been launched and will equip business leaders with the confidence and leadership skills to plan for the future of their business and ensure that they are in a great position to recover from the impacts of coronavirus. Find out more and apply here.

NEW – The Peer Networks programme has been launched and will focus on helping business owners improve their problem-solving skills, through a series of guided exercises. Members of the programme will be given skills in areas such as leadership and management, sales and marketing that they need to tackle these challenges head-on while growing their business. Find out more and apply here.

UPDATED – Guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been updated with new information on the maximum number of employees you can claim for. Please find our more here.

NEW – The National Cyber Security Centre and Cybercrime Awareness Clinic at the University of Portsmouth have launched the Covid-19 SME Cyber survey to understand SMEs experiences of working from home and dealing with organisational cybersecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey is open to owners/managers of micro, small and medium businesses and should take no more than ten minutes to complete. You can complete it here.

Regulation UPDATED – MHRA guidance for industry on flexible approaches to regulation they are taking during the COVID-19 outbreak has been updated to identify areas of flexibility which differ from the EU, indicated by an asterisk (*). Please find more information here.

Useful Links • • • • •

Gov.uk/transition provides a central hub of resources for the transition period You can sign up to email alerts about the transition period on GOV.UK at this link.

Sign up for Home Office email updates about developments on the status of EU citizens in the UK after we leave the EU and the next steps for EU citizens in the UK at this link.

Access the ‘Check How to Export Goods’ tool here for the information you need to export goods out of the UK market.

Click here for more information and advice on exporting.

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Click here for updated information on the Covid-19 response from the Department for Health and Social Care and Public Health England.

Click here for a list of Business Representative Organisations and Trade Associations you can speak with to get advice.

Specific information for businesses and employers in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales is available. In England, Growth Hubs can advise on local and UK Government business support.

COVID 19 key contact details: o General offers of help from industry: gcfcovid19enquiries@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, or visit this webpage. o To offer your support producing ventilators please contact the Business Support Helpline for England on 0300 456 3565 or ventilator.support@beis.gov.uk. o If you have already offered to assist on the ventilators project but not received a reply, please contact existing.ventilators@dhsc.gov.uk. o Share the impact COVID-19 is having on your organisation with intel@beis.gov.uk o To provide feedback on MHRA engagement please contact engagement@mhra.gov.uk o To call the Business Support Helpline in England please dial FREEPHONE 0800 998 1098, Scotland 0300 303 0660, Business Wales 0330 060 300 and Invest Northern Ireland 0800 181 4422