Business leaders and self-employed people affected by the introduction of tier 4 restrictions are being urged to contact the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority Growth Hub to access support and guidance.

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The hub has launched a support offering for businesses including the recruitment of additional staff to provide phone-based un-biased business resilience advice to business owners and the self-employed who are having to close or reduce their operations.

The additional staff will give the growth hub capacity to deal with businesses immediate questions and signpost business leaders to the grants available from Peterborough City Council to help deal with business disruption.

The Growth Hub will also offer in-depth, one-to-one support for business leaders with accredited consultants offering strategy advice, financial advice, HR.

This will be supported by webinars on subjects such as starting a new business.

A new feature of growth hub support will be signposting for business leaders and the self-employed to counselling services, to help manage with their emotional wellbeing, as well as business issues.

James Palmer, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough said: “We are working in partnership with Peterborough City Council to do everything we can to support Peterborough-based businesses affected by the move from tier 3 to tier 4.

“The Combined Authority’s Growth Hub is helping to signpost businesses to relevant grant schemes, including the Local Restrictions Grant and Additional Restrictions Grant, Peterborough City Council are currently operating.

“I have already spoken with Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick MP and have repeated my concern about the need for Government to support business, their staff and families affected by these new measures to avoid undue hardship.

“We will be sending out updated support information to business over the coming days and we have a dedicated helpline set up for business owners and the self-employed.”

Austen Adams, chairman of the business board, said: “Growth Hub staff have learned much from the lockdown period and have developed improved systems to handle greater call volumes and provide consistent advice.

“An improved CRM better tracks and maintains support into firms at risk, and our new website and communications protocols help us transmit key messages across the business community faster and more consistently.

“We have responded swiftly to increase our capacity to support local business owners, at what is a very difficult and uncertain time.

“I want business leaders and the self-employed to know that the Growth Hub is on hand to provide guidance and help them to access national and local support schemes.”

The Growth Hub’s support line is 01480 277923. You can also contact the team via emailing hello@cpcagrowthhub.co.uk.