Coronavirus Lockdown To Continue In Scotland For Further Three Weeks The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has formally extended Scotland's coronavirus lockdown. By law, the social distancing measures across the UK have to be reviewed every three weeks.
However, Ms Sturgeon said it was too soon to make meaningful changes without risking a resurgence of the virus.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to set out the UK Government’s plans to ease some lockdown measures this Sunday.
Ms Sturgeon said she was due to speak to Mr Johnson later on Thursday, and said she "will not be pressured into lifting restrictions prematurely, until I am as certain as I can be that we will not be risking a resurgence in infection rates".
She said her preference was for the four nations of the UK to move together, but said any decisions "must be taken with great care" that she would "continue to err on the side of caution".
Ms Sturgeon said it was thought the infection rate in Scotland "might still be higher than in other parts of the UK", possibly reflecting the fact that the first cases of Covid-19 north of the border came later than in England.
The Scottish government has published a paper of options for starting to lift restrictions - but warned that "extreme caution" will have to be exercised.
Business Engagement With Party Political Leaders SCC has completed its first phase of direct Business Engagement with the Leaders of the Scottish Political Parties;
Thank you to the Network for your participation, showcasing our geographical, business and sectoral reach.
Today, SCC wrote to the Leaders of the Political Parties outlining the issues we have raised on behalf of the business community, summarised as follows:
We will continue to make the case on behalf of the business community on these critical issues for our members.
Scottish Government Announce Emergency Loan Fund For SME Housebuilders Housebuilders will be able to apply for short-term loans of up to £1 million from the Scottish Government to support them through the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with liquidity issues due to the temporary closure of the housebuilding sector will be able to apply to a £100 million Scottish Government emergency loan fund.
Who can apply? SME housebuilders who can demonstrate that:
How much funding is available? The fund will offer short-term loan funding to applicants to cover 3 months of liquidity support to their business. Key features include:
Applicants will be asked to confirm why existing support routes are not appropriate or sufficient.
SME housebuilders will be able to apply for loan support from 14:00 on Monday 18 May on the Scottish Government website. Full details on the criteria for the Fund will be available at that point.
Applicants should be a SME housebuilder with a turnover of £45 million or less per year and building five or more homes per annum. They should only apply for funding that is necessary for the short term. They will be asked to explain why existing support mechanisms are not sufficient for their business.
Loans are capped at £1 million, most loans are expected to be repaid within two years with interest rates set at 2%. The minimum loan amount is £50,000.
CIPD Survey Shows 374,000 Scottish Jobs Saved by the Job Retention Scheme A new survey has shown the importance of the Job Retention Scheme (JRS) in Scotland, with an estimated 374,000 redundancies avoided.
The survey, commissioned by the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, has found that Scottish employers have on average furloughed 58% of their employees and, in the absence of the JRS, would have made 34% of their workforce redundant. That equates to over 15% of all employees in Scotland.
However, the CIPD has warned that changes to the scheme will be required to avoid permanent redundancies in the future. The same survey found that Scottish employers back the CIPD’s calls to extend the Job Retention Scheme and to make it more flexible to allow short-time working – 60% said they would find a flexible JRS useful.
The Chancellor has announced intentions to start scaling back the JRS from July but over half of employers (56%) believe an extension for a further three months, until September, would be the most helpful change in dealing with the impacts of Covid-19.
Lee Ann Panglea, Head of CIPD Scotland and Northern Ireland, commented:
“This survey very clearly shows the importance of the Government’s intervention, with over 374,000 redundancies prevented as a direct result of the Job Retention Scheme.
“That being said, to prevent permanent redundancies the UK, the Government needs to look ahead and consider changes to the support it is providing to businesses.
"Our survey shows Scottish employers back both an extension to the Job Retention Scheme and increased flexibility to allow some short-time working, enabling organisations to bring back workers from furlough gradually while rebuilding their business.
"This will become increasingly important as we look towards the next phase of this crisis, and will help avoid the current scheme simply becoming a waiting room for unemployment.”
Bank of England Warns of Sharpest Recession on Record The Bank of England has warned that the UK economy is heading towards its sharpest recession on record.
The impact of coronavirus meant the economy would shrink 14% this year, based on the lockdown being relaxed in June.
Scenarios drawn up by the Bank to illustrate the economic impact said Covid-19 was "dramatically reducing jobs and incomes in the UK".
Bank governor Andrew Bailey told the BBC there would be no quick return to normality. He described the downturn as "unprecedented", and said consumers would remain cautious even when lockdown restrictions are lifted.
Also on Thursday, policymakers voted unanimously to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.1%. However, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that sets interest rates was split on whether to inject more stimulus into the economy.
Two of its nine members voted to increase the latest round of quantitative easing by £100bn to £300bn. The Bank's analysis, published on Thursday, was based on the assumption that social distancing measures are gradually phased out between June and September.
Scottish Financial Enterprise: Point of Contact for Member Banks Scottish Financial Enterprise has produced a single point of contact at each of their member banks to enable queries or concerns to be raised directly with the bank.
Please find the list below:
New £5 Million Programme To Support Vulnerable People Without Internet Connectivity A new £5 million programme will offer an internet connection, training and support, and a laptop or tablet to vulnerable people who are not already online during the response to coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Connecting Scotland programme will connect 9,000 more people who are considered at clinically high risk themselves so they can access services and support and connect with friends and family during the pandemic.
Those who take part in the programme will be paired with a ‘digital champion’ to support them for six months while they get connected and find the information they need.
Background The Connecting Scotland project is being delivered by the Scottish Government, in partnership with local authorities, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and the digital and IT sectors led by ScotlandIS. It is also supported by Microsoft, Leidos, the Data Lab, Accenture and Gartner.
A ‘digital champion’ will provide phone and online support for an initial period of six months – after which the project will be evaluated to assess support needed longer term. Training and support for digital champions is being coordinated by SCVO, and will be delivered through local authorities and third sector bodies.
Phase 4 Tracker: Economic Recovery Yesterday, all chambers will have received their own branded version of the Phase 4 tracker survey which is focused on economic recovery.
The Phase 4 Economic Recovery Tracker focuses on what businesses need from Governments as we plan for economic recovery and restart business operations.
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.
This tracker has received over 240 responses in the 24 hours since it went live.
Many thanks to all for this work so far, and we would appreciate if you could remind your members next week to complete it if they have not already done so.
For further information on the above, please contact:
QEI Update The Q2 2020 Quarterly Economic Indicator survey fieldwork will begin Monday 18th of May and finish on Monday 8th of June.
Next Monday, we will be sharing communication materials and the survey link with chambers.
The data for this QEI will be the first major source for comparison with pre Covid-19 data. Alongside our collaboration with the British Chambers of Commerce, the overall results will indicate the seismic shift from pre Covid-19 business conditions to the present and give a clearer picture of the situation facing businesses across the UK.
To avoid conflicting fieldwork, we will temporarily suspend the Coronavirus Tracker Survey data collection while QEI fieldwork takes place. We are keeping data requirements under constant review.
QEI Dates for 2020
Q2 2020 Fieldwork: 18 May to 8 June Publication: Monday 6th July
Q3 2020 Fieldwork: 26 Aug to 16 Sept Publication: Thursday 8th October
Q4 2020 Fieldwork: 2 Nov to 23 Nov Publication: Thursday 21st January 2021
Key Statistics
Latest Coronavirus Statistics The daily update outlining the key statistics related to Covid-19 cases so far.
SCC Support Hub
The SCC Business Support Hub The Business Support Hub on the SCC website has been created to enable businesses to find useful information quickly.
The Hub is updated daily and includes information on business support, access to finance, contact numbers, public information and travel advice.
Key Links
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