SmartCymru is providing innovation vouchers for Welsh companies to help them bring in external expert support or purchase equipment for the purpose of developing or exploiting new products. £25,000 vouchers are available for capital projects and £10,000 vouchers are available for revenue projects.

SmartCymru is providing grants of up to £200,000 for Welsh companies to develop new, technologically innovative products and processes with commercial potential. Grants will cover feasibility studies, industrial research, experimental development and exploitation.

Creative Wales is providing grants of between £10,000 and £200,000 for firms in the film, television, music, digital, gaming and publishing sectors to help them invest in revenue projects.

The Creative Wales Capital Fund is providing grants of between £50,000 and £1.5 million for firms in the film, television, music, digital, gaming and publishing sectors to help them invest in capital projects.

The East Sussex Invest 7 scheme from East Sussex County Council is providing grants of up to £25,000 and loans of up to £200,000 for businesses to help them fund capital investments that will stimulate growth and job creation.

Alternative lenders MarketFinance, Ebury, Virgin Money, ClearBank and Tide have all secured funding of between £10 million and £35 million from the Banking Competitions Remedies Pool E fund. MarketFinance has announced that it will use the funding to open up their lending platform for sole traders and younger SMEs.

The Chancellor is considering a successor to the furlough scheme that could be similar to Germany’s short-time wage subsidy system in an effort to prevent large-scale job losses, according to the Guardian. That scheme sees the Government pay at least 60% of wages for the time an employee is not working, with firms paying staff their usual rate for the hours they work.

The Bank of England has confirmed that the Covid Corporate Financing Facility, which lends money to large businesses affected by the COVID-19 crisis, will close for new purchases of commercial paper from eligible issuers from 23 March 2021. The scheme will also close to new applications from counterparties and issuers looking to become eligible on 31 December 2020.

The Welsh Government has announced the implementation of new restrictions to stem the rising tide in COVID-19 cases. From 24 September 2020, hospitality businesses will have to provide table service only and close by 10pm each night, and all off-licences, including supermarkets, will have to stop selling alcohol by 10pm.

The Scottish Government has announced the implementation of new restrictions to stem the rising tide in COVID-19 cases. A maximum of six people from two households can meet in public indoor spaces such as cafes, pubs and restaurants, which must all close by 10pm each night, and people will be advised to work from home where possible.