SSI Supply Chain Support Scheme application guidelines

Transcription

1 SSI Supply Chain Support Scheme application guidelines 1. Purpose This guidance is designed to help you when completing the application form for the SSI Supply Chain Support Scheme. If you require further assistance you may telephone or us as follows: Tel: It is important that all information provided is accurate and given in as much detail as possible, as failure to do so may result in the application being declined or delays in the assessment process. 2. Background The SSI Supply Chain Support Scheme is part of the Tees Valley Business Support Scheme. The scheme is delivered by BE Group on behalf of the SSI Taskforce and Tees Valley Unlimited. Funding for the scheme is provided by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, via Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The scheme provides grant support to eligible businesses (see Section 5 below) that have been adversely impacted by the closure of the SSI UK steel works in Redcar. Immediate grant aid is available in the form of working capital to support companies to continue trading, safeguard jobs and seek new business opportunities to enable their sustainable recovery. Applicants may receive grant offers provided they meet the eligibility and assessment criteria outlined below. Decisions to award or not to award grants are at the absolute discretion of BE Group, in consultation with Tees Valley Unlimited and other public sector bodies that may be appropriate, and there is no obligation on BE Group to provide grants. Applicants must in all cases provide a convincing explanation of why a grant is required and of how the funds will be used to facilitate the survival of the business. Applicants must also supply evidence of a viable business plan. Applications may be rejected where there is evidence to suggest either that a grant is not required to safeguard the business or where the business is not deemed to be viable. 3. Application process Grant applications may be submitted by the business that requires the grant or by a professional advisor on their behalf. Applications will be assessed against the criteria set out in Section 9 below and all applications will follow a four stage process, as follows: 1

2 Stage 1: Applications must be made using the SSI Supply Chain Support Scheme application form available on the following web link: Hand written application forms cannot be accepted. Application forms must be fully completed and must be accompanied by all of the supporting information specified on the application form. Applications will not progress to stage 2 of the process until all the required information has been received by BE Group. Stage 2: Applications will be assessed by BE Group and UNW LLP, chartered accountants. Applicants will be contacted by telephone for any clarification which may be required and in most cases a visit will be arranged. Stage 3: Applications for grants of 10,000 or more will be considered by an Investment Panel comprising senior representatives of the Tees Valley business community, senior staff of BE Group, Tees Valley Unlimited and UNW LLP, with representation from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in an observer role. Stage 4: Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by and a grant offer letter will be issued to successful applicants. Applications may be rejected at either Stage 2 or Stage 3 above if the company is deemed to be ineligible or where there is evidence to suggest either that a grant is not required to safeguard the business or where the business is not believed to be viable. Decisions to award or not to award grants are at the absolute discretion of BE Group and are final. There is no right of appeal, but applicants may re-submit an application in certain circumstances (see Section 10 below). If you have not already done so, we strongly advise you to telephone our helpline on before completing an application form. This will enable us to establish your eligibility for the Scheme before you commit time to filling in the application form. 4. Geographic location The scheme is available to businesses in the UK that were within SSI UK s supply chain. Businesses based anywhere in the UK may apply for a grant. 5. Eligibility 5.1 The scheme may be used to support businesses that were within the supply chain of SSI UK s steel works in Redcar. Direct and indirect suppliers (companies that supplied SSI UK via a third party) are both eligible for grant support, but in all cases applicants must provide evidence of revenue derived from supplying SSI UK in Redcar. 2

3 5.2 Companies in all industry sectors are eligible for grant support, with the exception of the agriculture and fisheries sectors (see Section 8 below). Businesses in the road freight transport sector are eligible for lower levels of funding than other eligible sectors (see Section 8 below). 5.3 Beneficiaries of the scheme must comply with the De minimis aid regulation (see Section 8 below). 6. Levels of grant support available There is no minimum grant and the maximum is the De minimis threshold (see Section 8 below). 7. Scheme timescales All grants must be paid in full by 31 st March State Aid Grants awarded through the scheme are State aid and are awarded under the De minimis aid regulation (EU Commission Regulation no. 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). This regulation imposes certain restrictions on which are applicable to this Scheme, as follows: 8.1 Businesses in the agriculture and fisheries sectors are not eligible. Business in the road freight transport sector are eligible for lower levels of funding than other eligible sectors; 8.2 The maximum funding any business can receive is 200,000 over a 3-year fiscal period ( 100,000 in the road freight transport sector). The sterling equivalent is calculated using the European Commission exchange rate applicable on the date of the grant offer letter; 8.3 The above ceilings apply to the total amount of De Minimis aid to a business (or group in the case of businesses which are not autonomous). Applicants to this Scheme are required to declare all public funding received during the previous 5 years and to specify how much of this was De minimis aid received during the previous 3 fiscal years; 8.4 When offering a grant through this Scheme, BE Group must ensure that the new award does not breach the applicable ceiling, taking into account all De minimis aid received by the applicant during the previous 3 fiscal years. Grant offer letters issued by BE Group will specify the amount of De minimis aid being offered. BE Group must keep records of all De minimis aid paid for 10 years from the last payment. Beneficiaries must keep records of De minimis aid received for 3 years and must declare this when required to do so by other grant giving bodies. For further information, please read the De minimis regulation: 3

4 9. Assessment criteria After establishing eligibility in accordance with Section 5 above, all SSI Supply Chain Support Scheme applications will be assessed against the following criteria before any grant offer may be made: 9.1 Case for grant support (additionality). Applicants must demonstrate that a grant is required and must explain why this is the case. The required amount of grant must be justified and applicants must explain how they have calculated the amount they are requesting. 9.2 Employment impacts. The application will be assessed on the number of existing jobs to be safeguarded by the project and applicants must demonstrate that those jobs would otherwise be at severe risk of redundancy within 12 months in the absence of the grant. Safeguarded jobs must be permanent and sustainable and applicants must demonstrate that the revenue in the business plan is sufficient to maintain the jobs within the business for a minimum of 3 years. 9.3 Viability. The business making the grant application must be viable and must have, or be able to obtain, adequate finance for the working capital requirements of the business, with the aid of the grant. Applicants must demonstrate that: they have a workable business plan showing how they will stabilise the business in the short term and recover from the impact of the closure of SSI UK, such that the current jobs can be maintained for a minimum of 3 years; and the management team has the required skills and experience to deliver the business plan successfully. 10. Procedure for re-submitting an unsuccessful application Applications that are rejected at either Stage 2 or Stage 3 of the application process, as outlined in Section 3 above, may be re-submitted in the following circumstances only: 10.1 where the Project has changed fundamentally, or 10.2 where there is new information available which materially alters what was previously presented in the grant application. 11. Guidance on completing the application form Section Title Guidance 1. Business Name Please use the full name as registered on Companies House or with HMRC. Legal Status Please add the legal status of your business, e.g. Limited Company, Company Registration No. Partnership, Sole Trader etc. Please add the number as listed on Companies House. 4

5 Section Title Guidance Date of incorporation or date started trading Please enter either the date the business was incorporated on Companies House or the date that the business issued its first invoice. Sector Please state the sector that describes your business e.g. Manufacturing. 2. Trading Address Please state the address where the main business activity takes 3. Last Approved Annual Accounts place. Please state the figures for that last fully approved accounts. Turnover and balance sheet figures should be stated in Pounds sterling in full, e.g. 100,000. Employees should be stated as full time equivalent. A full time employee is a minimum of 30 hours and a part time employee is no less than 15 hours per week. Names of Directors and shareholders should be as listed with Companies House or as stated in any partnership agreements. 4. Group Accounts If your business is more than 25% owned by another business it is classed as being part of a group. If this applies to your business you will need to provide details for the group. Turnover and balance sheet figures should be stated in Pounds sterling in full, e.g. 100,000. Employees should be stated as full time equivalent. A full time employee is a minimum of 30 hours and a part time employee is no less than 15 hours per week. Please state the group name as it is registered. 5. Shareholders If your business is classed as part of a group please enter the details as registered. Please state the country in which the controlling company is registered. Please list any other businesses that are under this controlling business. Please list any other businesses that are controlled by any of the shareholders. 6. Business Overview Please give a brief history of your business and describe its main activities and markets. 7. Main Contact Details These contact details should be for the person within the business who is able to, and has the authority to, answer any questions relating to this application. This may be a professional advisor, if you are using one. 8. Impact of SSI closure: Relationship with SSI Impact of SSI closure: Description Impact of SSI closure: Jobs Please explain the nature of your business relationship with SSI UK. Were you a direct supplier or was your relationship via a third party? Please provide a breakdown of your business turnover this year and in the two previous years. Please describe what impact the SSI closure will have on your business and how this will affect you. Please provide the jobs figures requested, describe the impact of the SSI closure on the jobs in your business and provide 5

6 Section Title Guidance information on the jobs to be safeguarded (and any new jobs that may be created) as a result of this grant support. 9. Current financial position and future plans Plan achievements Risks Grant amount Without grant support Please provide the information requested and explain what plans you have to stabilise the business and replace the lost revenue and profits. Please be realistic in these estimations. Please explain how grant support would help you to achieve these plans together with details of how the grant will be spent. You must provide a convincing explanation of why a grant is required to achieve these plans and also of how the amount of grant you are requesting has been calculated. Please describe realistically the risks to your business in the next few months e.g. new contract is not won, new contract requires large scale investment in machinery. Please specify the amount of grant required (there is no minimum grant and the maximum is the De minimis threshold (see Section 8 above). Please describe what would happen if you did not receive this grant. Please explain the impacts that this would have on the finances, staffing and the business in general. Your application will be rejected if there is evidence to suggest that grant support is not required. 10. Previous Public Funding Please list all public funding received during the previous 5 years (by all companies within the group, if your business is part of a group as per question 4 above) and specify how much of this was De minimis aid. See Section 8 above. 11. Checklist Please ensure that all the applicable listed documents are included with your application as failure to do so could result in the rejection of your application or a delay in the processing of your application. The De minimis declaration form will be sent to you with your application form however a copy can also be downloaded from Declaration Please ensure that all declarations are clearly marked with an X as proof that you have understood each section. If you are unsure then please contact us on to discuss. If you require further assistance you can either telephone us on or us at TVBSS@be-group.co.uk. 6