Latest guidance on coronavirus for local government

Business and charity support

• Announcement: New coronavirus ‘support finder’ tool for businesses and self-employed people
• Announcement: Domestic abuse charities can apply for vital funds
• Guidance: Apply for the Food Charities Grant Fund
• Guidance: Eligibility and delivery of the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF) and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF)
• Guidance for employees, employers and businesses
• Announcement: Extra protection for businesses with ban on evictions for commercial tenants who miss rent payments
• Guidance: Work out 80% of your employees’ wages to claim through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
• Guidance: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme guide for employers
• Announcement: Data on grant funding provided to businesses by local authorities in England
• Announcement: Top up to local business grant fund scheme
• Announcement: £6.1 million funding boost for Business Improvement Districts

Funerals and care of the deceased

• Guidance: Support for the bereaved
• Guidance: Managing a funeral
• Announcement: Government sets out plans to ensure bereaved families can attend funerals during pandemic
• Guidance: Local death management

Homelessness and rough sleeping

• Guidance for hostel or day centres for people rough sleeping
• Guidance for accommodation providers
• Letter from Minister Hall to local authorities on plans to protect rough sleepers
• Letter from Minister Hall to caravan and park home owners
• Letter from Minister Hall to hotels on providing accommodation to support vulnerable people
• Announcement: £3.2 million emergency support for rough sleepers during coronavirus outbreak
• Announcement: Rough sleeping taskforce created

Housing

• Guidance: Home moving during the coronavirus outbreak
• Announcement: new guidance on moving home
• Guidance: Renting for landlords, tenants and local authorities
• Announcement: Complete ban on evictions and additional protection for renters
• Guidance: Domestic abuse safe accommodation provision
• Guidance: Meeting the regulatory requirement to secure valid Energy Performance Certificates
• Guidance for social landlords on essential moves

Local government finance and funding

• Announcement: Business rates revaluation postponed
• Announcement: Councils will be allowed to defer £2.6 billion in business rates payments to central government, and £850 million in social care grants will be paid up front this month
• Announcement: Allocations of additional funding to local authorities
• Announcement: Government pledges extra £1.6 billion for councils
• Letter: Outline of funding support to councils
• Guidance: Business rates: expanded retail discount 2020 to 2021
• Guidance: Business rates: nursery (childcare) discount 2020 to 2021
• Letters: Business rates information
• Announcement: Businesses to receive almost £10 billion in rates relief
• Letter: Council Tax information on the technical implementation of the £500 million hardship fund
• Guidance: Council tax: COVID-19 hardship fund 2020 to 2021

Parks and public spaces

• Guidance: Safer public spaces - urban centres and green spaces
• Guidance: Access to green spaces
• Announcement: new guidance on spending time outdoors
• Letter: Access to parks and public spaces, including burial grounds and cemeteries
• Announcement: Communities Secretary welcomes response to his call for parks to open

Planning and building safety

• Guidance: coronavirus planning update
• Guidance: Coronavirus compulsory purchase
• Guidance: Coronavirus community infrastructure levy
• Guidance: construction site working hours Q&A
• Guidance: consultation and pre-decision matters
• Guidance: plan-making
• Guidance: Application of the building regulations
• Announcement: Pledge to ensure necessary building safety improvements can continue
• Guidance from the Planning Inspectorate
• Guidance: Remediation and Building Safety
• Letter: Planning update from the Chief Planner (March 2020)
• Guidance: Changes to neighbourhood planning
• Announcement: Government to grant permission for pubs and restaurants to operate as takeaways

PPE

• Guidance: PPE plan
• Guidance: PPE hub
• Guidance on PPE from Public Health England
• Guidance: Office for Product Safety and Standards PPE guidance for business and local authorities

Public health

• Guidance: Staying alert and safe
• Guidance for businesses and other venues subject to further social distancing measures
• Guidance: Social distancing in the workplace
• Guidance: Infection prevention and control
• Guidance: Care of the deceased with suspected or confirmed coronavirus
• Guidance for the public on mental health and wellbeing
• Guidance for people with animals
• Guidance: Information leaflet on stopping the spread of coronavirus

Schools and education

• Guidance hub: Schools and other educational settings

Shielding and volunteering

• Guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable
• Announcement: Over 1 million food boxes delivered to those most at risk from coronavirus
• Announcement: Over half a million food packages delivered to those at risk

Social care

• Action plan for adult social care
• Guidance: Social care
• Guidance: Vulnerable children and young people
• Guidance: Changes to the Care Act 2014 to help local authorities prioritise care and support
• Guidance: Ethical framework for adult social care for local authorities and adult social care professionals
• Guidance: Residential care, supported living and home care
• Guidance: Admission and care of people in care homes
• Announcement: £2.9 billion funding to strengthen care for the vulnerable
• Guidance: Providing unpaid care
• Guidance: Financial support for education, early years and children’s social care

Testing

• Guidance: Coronavirus testing for frontline workers
• Announcement: Testing extended to more frontline workers
• Announcement: Testing for “everyone who needs one” in social care settings
• Policy paper: How the government intends to scale up testing programmes to provide a test to anyone who needs one
• Guidance: Privacy notice for testing for critical workers
• Announcement: Further expansion of access to coronavirus testing
• Letter: Testing for council workers

Waste

• Guidance for local authorities on prioritising waste collections
• Letter: Opening household waste and recycling centres
• Letter: Thank you to waste sector workers

Other

• Roadmap: The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy
• Guidance: Coronavirus Act 2020 status table
• Guidance: Fraud control in emergency management
• Guidance: Notification of data controllers to share information
• Announcement: Councils given new powers to hold public meetings remotely
• Letter: Local authority meetings and postponement of elections
• Letter: Secretary of State thanks the local government workforce
• Letter: Extension of statutory audit deadlines for 2019 to 2020
• Guidance: Health, care and volunteer workers parking pass and concessions
• Guidance: Public procurement regulations and responding to the coronavirus outbreak
• Guidance: Procurement Policy Note, supplier relief due to COVID-19
• Guidance: European Structural and Investment Funds