Businesses which form the foundations of North Yorkshire’s economy are being given the opportunity to benefit from hundreds of thousands of pounds in funding. A new package of capital grant schemes is opening up £450,000 in funding for small and micro firms across the county. The fund, administered by North Yorkshire Council through the North Yorkshire UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF), is focused on increasing business growth, productivity and resilience. Grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 are available. Micro businesses, with less than 10 employees, and small firms with less than 50 employees can also access free support beyond the grant through the business advisory teams at the council and the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub. Council leader and chair of the SPF Board, Cllr Carl Les, said: “We are delighted to open up this funding stream, which we hope will be accessed by all – sole traders, start-ups, home businesses and social enterprises as well as landlords and people looking to diversify their farm businesses and limited companies. “We want businesses to think about the simple changes that could create a sustainable difference to the way they work, reach customers, and improve their bottom line for profits. Our ambition is to reach deep into the business community to see a broad range of innovative applications across the different sectors and disciplines and especially welcome first-time applications.” North Yorkshire’s economy is heavily slanted towards smaller businesses and there is a total of more than 32,700 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises alongside 90 large businesses in the county. The chair of the SPF Business Thematic Group, Sue Jefferson, added: “The parameters of the grants on offer have been designed by business for business as we want to see the funds accessible to all and overcoming the barriers that small businesses all too often face. “With over 98 per cent of our local economy being made up of micro and small businesses, the ability to offer a grant programme that also encourages all applicants to take advantage of wider business advice or support, is really important to us.” Funding for the 2023/24 scheme amounts to £450,000, with feedback and learning from this initiative set to influence the further development of grant pots in the pipeline for 2024/25.

Colleges and training providers across South Yorkshire have worked in collaboration to secure an investment of £4.2 million from the Local Skills Improvement Fund to support a step change in the skills provision needed to transform the regional economy and drive a high-tech future. The funding programme will be used to make the skills system more accessible to employers, to remove barriers that are currently making it difficult to recruit apprentices, to raise the level of digital training offered by our providers, and to ultimately improve the opportunities and prospects that are available to residents. In this sense, it will be vital in addressing many of the priorities that were identified by the South Yorkshire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) earlier in the year. Reacting to this positive development, the South Yorkshire Chambers in Doncaster, Sheffield, and Barnsley & Rotherham issued this joint statement: “When it comes to skills, there is a great deal that we should be proud and appreciative of here in the region. After all, we are home to three brilliant University Technical Colleges — with another one on the way — all of our further education providers are ranked Oftsed good or better, and we benefit from a number of strong and highly effective partnerships. “Yet this crucially does not mean that there isn’t room from improvement. Indeed, we should always aspire to better ourselves and know that this is a view shared by many of our partners across South Yorkshire. “In fact, those very same education providers that we just mentioned were absolutely instrumental in the development of our South Yorkshire LSIP and constructively engaged with the project right from the beginning. They did this because they too realise the importance of being agile and responsive to the needs, not just of their learners, but also of local employers. “We therefore welcome this additional funding from the Department for Education, as it will help bring many of the recommendations from that LSIP to fruition and help colleges and universities to fulfil their laudable ambitions. “Learners will be afforded new opportunities to develop the skills they need to thrive in the modern workplace  — particularly embracing digital technology —while businesses will be able to harness the resulting talent to innovate and grow towards a more prosperous future. “To reiterate, it is of vital importance that we have a skills system in the region that meets the needs of both local employers and learners. While we already have some fantastic provision in that respect, we believe that this investment from DfE will help take it to the next level and we have already commenced work with our excellent providers to realise the full value of the investment and meet our ambitions for South Yorkshire .”

Streets Chartered Accountants covers a recent merger, the Autumn Statement, Corporation Tax and VAT Funding Solutions, business insolvencies, and more in its latest monthly news roundup. The merger of two leading accountancy practices is a welcome boost to Bristol, the South West and beyond

Streets its delighted to announce the establishment of Streets Steele Chartered Certified Accountants. The announcement follows the merger of the award-winning Bristol practice, Steele Financial with Streets. When asked about the merger, Ben Steele, now Managing Director of Streets Steele, said: “Having started Steele Financial only six years ago we have experienced significant growth and as such, in line with the advice we give our clients, we recognised the need to develop our practice to service growing demand.”

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Webinar: The Autumn Statement 2023

Following Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement on Wednesday 22nd November, colleagues from Streets Tax and its financial services team will present on the announcements made along with providing an update on topical issues affecting business clients and private individuals during this tax year 2023/24. This presentation will be recorded and available on demand for those not able to join live. Simply register to receive a link to watch on demand.

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Corporation Tax and VAT Funding Solutions

Whether your Corporation Tax payment is looming or your VAT payment is approaching and you are looking at managing your cashflow and working capital, then it might be worth considering a tax funding solution. What is tax funding? Tax funding is a finance option enabling businesses to fund their VAT or Corporation Tax over monthly affordable repayments rather than paying HMRC in one go, giving more flexibility, aiding cashflow and providing you with additional working capital to use as and if required during the year.

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Podcast: Business insolvencies are on the rise – how to manage your exposure

In this episode of The Streets Sessions, Andrew McTear, a director with insolvency and business restructuring specialists McTear Williams Wood, talks about the rising number of business insolvencies, what directors need to consider and how to manage their exposure should their business be struggling or be facing increased bad debts.

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Event: Going Global Conference

Streets’ international association, SBC Global Alliance, is delighted to support this event, with Marketing Partner, James Pinchbeck, as host. Are you eager to expand your horizons and explore international markets? Whether you’re embarking on your exporting journey, expanding into new markets, or delving into imports from international suppliers, this Going Global Conference is tailored to guide you on your international business ventures. Whether you’re a seasoned exporter or just starting your international journey, this event is crafted to equip you with the tools and insights needed to excel in the ever-expanding global business landscape.

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Are we facing a meteoric rise in mediocrity?

How often, especially if you are on LinkedIn, have you seen a post or received news that someone you know has been promoted? How often does such promotion seem to be a somewhat significant step up or change from an existing role? Whilst a career trajectory from assistant to a C suite role in a matter of a few years might seem unplausible, it does seem increasingly possible. It seems gone are the days that one’s career progression is based on a number, if not many, years of work and being mentored and supported by a more senior person, with such progression dependent even on the retirement of the person in the role above.

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