Scottish Economy Saw Small Growth In May Scotland's economy has seen a modest increase in output, new figures from the Scottish Government show.
Latest Gross domestic product (GDP) figures show the economy grew by 1.5% in May.
The increase comes after falls in March and April, when economic growth fell by 18.9% in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown.
Despite the slight pickup in May, economic output remains 22.1% below the level in February before the Covid-19 crisis took hold.
A breakdown of the figures shows some parts of the retail and wholesale sector were among the strongest performing.
In manufacturing, output is estimated to have increased by 7.1% during May, which the Scottish government report says "reflects a pickup across many parts of the industry as producers adapted to physical distancing requirements".
In the construction sector, total output is estimated to have increased by 8.2% in May, after falling by 40.1% in April.
Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said:
"Although there was a slight rise in GDP in May, these figures once again confirm the serious impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on the economy across the UK.
"We are determined to do everything in our power to support economic recovery and protect people's jobs and livelihoods throughout this crisis."
Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“The GDP stats for the month of May from the Scottish Government show a modest rise in economic activity.
"However, the disparity with pre lockdown figures clearly demonstrate the harsh reality facing companies across Scotland who are faced with the challenge of stimulating demand and managing new ways of operating.
“The Scottish & UK Government must work with business to accelerate investment to stimulate demand and protect jobs as well as providing long-term targeted support for the most affected sectors.’’
Agriculture Loan Scheme Launches In Scotland A loan scheme to support farmers and crofters through the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has been announced by Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing.
With the additional uncertainty caused by Brexit, the National Basic Payment Support Scheme will maintain vital cash flow for farm and croft businesses by injecting up to £340 million into the rural economy.
The scheme will give farmers and crofters access to vital financial support up to three months earlier than the EU CAP payment period, helping them continue to operate during the crisis.
Mr Ewing said:
“Our farmers and crofters are vital to Scotland’s economy, putting food on our plates during this unprecedented crisis.
“As the end of the Brexit transition period approaches at the end of this year, these farmers will only be feeling additional anxiety, so it is essential that they have the cash flow they need to continue operating.
“Our absolute priority is ensuring farmers and crofters receive their payments as we move towards a full exit from the EU, so we have decided to offer a further loan scheme so that farmers can access this support at the earliest ever point.
“I would encourage anyone who would like to accept their loan offer to do so by email where they can, to allow us to process these important payments as quickly as possible.”
The loan scheme provides Scottish farmers and crofters access of up to 95% of their 2020 CAP BPS and Greening payment, restricted to the scheme maximum of £133,638.
Loan offer letters will be sent to eligible farmers and crofters from the beginning of August, with the first payments due in September.
Work And Transport Focus Of Next Stage Of Easing For England Coronavirus restrictions will ease further in England under plans for a "significant return to normality" by Christmas, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced.
Under the new guidelines, people may use public transport for journeys immediately, while advice for employers will change from 1 August.
Companies will have more discretion to bring staff back to workplaces if it is safe to do so, the PM explained. Mr Johnson added he was "hoping for the best and planning for the worst".
At a news conference at Downing Street, the prime minister said the roadmap for England "remains conditional" on continued progress in controlling the virus and preventing a second wave of infections that could overwhelm the NHS.
"It is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from November at the earliest - possibly in time for Christmas," he said.
Devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have the power to set their own timings for the easing of restrictions.
In the announcement, Mr Johnson said the government was making it clear to people in England they may use public transport now.
From 1 August, he said: "Instead of government telling people to work from home, we are going to give employers more discretion, and ask them to make decisions about how their staff can work safely."
He explained that could mean "continuing to work from home, which is one way of working safely and which has worked for many employers and employees."
On Thursday, the government's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, told MPs there was "absolutely no reason" to change the government's current guidance on working from home.
The government has advised people to "work from home if you can" since March, and Sir Patrick said home working was still a "perfectly good option" for many.
British Airways Retires Entire 747 Fleet After Travel Downturn British Airways has said it will retire all of its Boeing 747s as it suffers from the sharp travel downturn. The UK airline is the world's largest operator of the jumbo jets, with 31 in the fleet.
"It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect," a BA spokesman confirmed.
Airlines across the world have been hit hard by coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
BA, which is owned by International Airlines Group (IAG), said the planes will all be retired with immediate effect. The 747s represent about 10% of BA's total fleet.
It had planned on retiring the planes in 2024 but has brought forward the date due to the downturn.
According to travel data firm Cirium there are about 500 747s still in service, of which 30 are actively flying passengers. More than 300 fly cargo and the remainder are in storage.
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said:
“This is not how we wanted or expected to have to say goodbye to our incredible fleet of 747 aircraft. It is a heart-breaking decision to have to make.
"So many people, including many thousands of our colleagues past and present, have spent countless hours on and with these wonderful planes – they have been at the centre of so many memories, including my very first long-haul flight.
"They will always hold a special place in our hearts at British Airways.
“We have committed to making our fleet more environmentally friendly as we look to reduce the size of our business to reflect the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on aviation.
"As painful as it is, this is the most logical thing for us to propose. The retirement of the jumbo jet will be felt by many people across Britain, as well as by all of us at British Airways. It is sadly another difficult but necessary step as we prepare for a very different future.”
Renfrewshire £1.3m Business Support Package Approved An innovative package of support to help Renfrewshire businesses recover from the effects of lockdown has been given the green light by councillors.
And the £1.3m funding boost agreed today by members of Renfrewshire Council's Emergencies Board has also been welcomed by some of the area's key economic leaders.
The proposals were developed as a result of an in-depth survey which saw staff from the council and Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce speak to more than 500 businesses - around 10% of Renfrewshire's total - about the issues coronavirus has caused for them.
The council then used the results of that to develop a new package of short-term funding which will now be open for local firms to apply for from mid-August. It includes:
The money is coming from within existing council budgets for business support and is expected to be the first stage of a longer-term economic recovery plan.
And the package of support has been backed by members of the Renfrewshire Economic Leadership Panel.
Bob Grant, chief executive of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, said:
"The survey exercise in partnership with Renfrewshire Council has been the largest ever of the business community in Renfrewshire and we warmly welcome the innovative package of funding as a direct response to the key issues highlighted.
"In addition to these measures Renfrewshire Chamber will fund two initiatives launching at the end of July: Development of a peer-to-peer business mentoring service and a unique Transform training program which will help companies to innovate, re-design and develop new strategies to mitigate the impacts of Covid and identify future opportunities."
SDS Annual Review 2019/2020 Published The latest annual review illustrates Skills Development Scotland's progress throughout 2019/20, what SDS has achieved against the first year of its 2019-22 Strategic Plan and highlights its achievement of key targets for the operating year.
It also sets out and provides some detail on the rapid changes SDS has implemented as COVID-19 emerged towards the end of 2019/20.
SDS significantly expanded its work-based learning offer, focusing heavily on increasing the availability of Foundation Apprenticeships (FA) in schools and expanding Modern Apprenticeship (MA) and Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) opportunities in the workplace.
Through this work, SDS exceeded its 2019/20 target of 29,000 apprenticeship starts with 27,875 MA starts and 1,160 GA starts in cohort 3 (2019).
FA opportunities were taken up by 3,445 school pupils from 325 schools, with 91% of FAs in training saying they would recommend Foundation Apprenticeships to a friend or family member.
The SDS careers colleagues supported more than 186,956 school pupils to develop Career Management Skills, whilst there were 2.6 million users of My World of Work, the award-winning career information, advice and guidance web service. 93% of its careers services reviewed by Education Scotland scored good or above in 2019/20.
SDS Chief Executive, Damien Yeates, said:
“Our achievements in 2019/20 show that we continue to be committed to making skills work for Scotland.
"Over the past 12 months, we’ve have made significant strides towards achieving our ambitions, and have worked hard to drive productivity and inclusive growth through the investment in skills.
"Our Annual Review also highlights how we have responded rapidly to new customer and business needs as we navigate the impact of COVID-19.
“In the year ahead, as we continue to operate in what is sure to be a challenging environment due to the pandemic, we will continue to work closely with our partners to build a strong, inclusive and resilient economy for Scotland.”
New SCC Network Coronavirus Survey Tracker The Phase 5 Coronavirus Survey Tracker focuses on the changes to business operations, obstacles to restarting, the situation with regards furlough and redundancies, as well as ascertaining what’s needed next for businesses and what role they see the chamber network playing in the economic recovery period.
The findings of this Tracker will support the Chamber Network’s representations to both the Scottish and UK Government to shape the business and economic recovery plans, as well as inform our own Network engagement with our collective membership across Scotland.
As a reminder, the Phase 4 Tracker received around 450 responses from across the Chamber Network.
For further information, please contact Colin Campbell at SCC via the below link.
Travel Planning Support Transport Scotland is offering free travel demand management workshops to employers in the Edinburgh and Glasgow Regions to enable you to better support your employees as they return to work following lockdown.
The free workshops will have a limited number of attendees to enable discussion and will be taking place next week.
If you would like to book a place, please email Sean Stephen at Mott MacDonald via the below link.
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The Hub is updated daily and includes information on business support, access to finance, contact numbers, public information and travel advice.
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