DCMS Museums and Galleries Sector Coronavirus bulletin 11 January
NEW Lockdown regulations
NEW England Lockdown: Stay At Home posters: 05/01
NEW £4.6 billion in new lockdown grants to support businesses and protect jobs: 05/01
- Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000. The one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows:
- £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
- £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
- £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000
NEW Check if eligible for a grant due to national restrictions (for closed businesses): updated 05/01
- The Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG (Closed) Addendum) supports businesses that have been required to close due to the national restrictions.
NEW COVID-19 critical worker status: 07/01
- Clarification on when a security operative is considered to be a “critical worker”.
- A security operative is considered a critical worker if they are deployed in roles essential to supporting law and order, or which have the potential to limit any further likely pressures on the Police or national emergency services – this could include the guarding of empty or closed commercial property judged at risk, closed retail sites or sensitive office premises, or the monitoring of similar through CCTV or other remote means, and the provision of alarm response centres including mobile units
- Any access to school places is role dependent and will be decided by the local authority.
- The Government has created a letter for employers to help with employees who need to come to work. Employers are advised to download the letter and customise with their letterhead and details and print off for their staff to show to the police if necessary.
NEW Mandatory COVID-19 testing introduced to bolster border measures: 08/01
Read the bulletin in full here.
Previous bulletins:
Reopening museums
National guidance on reopening museums post-lockdown is available and updated regularly. Visit our dedicated web page here
Business Support
Business Support website
The UK Government is supporting businesses and their employees through a package of measures during this period of unprecedented disruption. The Business Support website helps businesses find the right support, advice and information to help with the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Acas
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) Coronavirus advice for employers and employees has been updated and can be viewed here
They are also hosting Coronavirus advisory webinars for employers. These free webinars will provide practical advice for employers to help manage the impact of Coronavirus in the workplace. View more details and register your place here.
Sector Information and Support
Arts Council England (ACE)
The latest advice, guidance and emergency funding measures the Arts Council, government and several external organisations have put in place to address the Covid-19/coronavirus crisis can be found here
Association of Independent Museums (Aim)
Aim has a web page which covers a range of advice and guidance and is regularly updated. Visit the web page here
They also have a range of support exclusively for AIM members which includes:
- Aim Hallmarks at Home
- ‘The HR Dept’ HR helpline for members, plus advice for staff
- Online Advice Surgeries
If you are an independent museum and Aim member we strongly encourage you to access the support available.
Heritage Volunteering Group
Heritage Volunteering Group has worked with DCMS to produce guidance on Covid Secure Volunteering which has now been published. Read it here.
Museums Association
National Archives
The National Archives has issued guidance for archive services which can be found here.
NCVO
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has produced a summary page of advice and guidance on its web pages and can be found here
They have also made their member-only resources free to everyone because of the current situation and can be accessed here
Amongst these resources you can find further information and support on Risk Management including Zurich’s full guidance on pandemic planning, along with a checklist that can be used to plan for a pandemic and minimise its impact. Read more here
Key coronavirus legal issues for charities explained – a recent webinar with the experts from Bates Wells solicitors providing advice on contracts, finances and the new furlough scheme. You can watch on demand here.
Data Protection and Coronavirus – If your staff are working remotely, you may need to create new procedures and consider how extra care may be taken to secure information. Hope & May has put together some guidance for organisations and can be read in full here
Roots HR
Roots HR Community Interest Company is the UK’s specialist consultancy for human resources and health and safety services for social sector. They provide 1 hour FREE Human Resources consultancy services to leaders and managers working in social sector. View their voucher and contact details here
Their consultants have put together some simple and free tools to support employers with home working which include:
- a form of words for formalising the change in contractual terms with your employees
- a Display Screen Checklist for employees
Key Information Sources
- Coronavirus (COVID-19): UK government response – Sign up for email alerts
- COVID-19: guidance for employers and businesses
- Public Health England
- NHS guidance
- FCO Travel advice
- Government Action Plan
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