UKFT is urging the government to provide support for individuals or companies that are not eligible for any of the existing Covid-19 related protection schemes. “We have been speaking with companies and individuals throughout the UK fashion and textile industry over the past few weeks and have identified a number of issues, which must be addressed urgently. We are referring to these companies as the “forgotten middle” and they include the owners and/or founders of small limited companies who derive their income from a limited company but not through PAYE, the self-employed who have not shown any profits and those who were employed after 28th February.”
UKFT is raising this issue with the government on a daily basis as are the CBI, and UKFT is also raising many other issues with the government including:
- Difficulty of accessing coronavirus business support loans
- The need for a rates holiday for all businesses
- The huge difficulty caused by retailers and brands cancelling orders
- The limitations of the Small Business Grant scheme
- The need to make the finance from the support schemes available much more quickly
- The need for the government to significantly increase the support available to the industry when the immediate crisis has passed
If companies or individuals have experienced any of the problems mentioned above or any other issues it would be extremely helpful for UKFT to hear about your experience and for us to be able to share these with the government. Please email these to paul.alger@ukft.org with as much detail as possible.
