COVID-19 NEWS
Update from SCC – New Lockdown Measures The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has announced today a series of new lockdown restrictions - mainly aimed at the hospitality sector and the central belt of Scotland - to tackle the recent increase in cases of COVID-19.
Here is a summary of the measures announced today:
What new support is there for business? £40 million for those sectors affected, the First Minister has said that the Scottish Government will engage in discussion with the hospitality sector and business groups to deliver this support.
SCC will be engaging directly with Scottish Government on this as a matter of priority.
Evidence: In her speech, the First Minister cited an evidence paper – produced by the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing Officer and National Clinical Director – as the base for why these new restrictions are being brought into effect.
If you have any comments or questions on any of the above, then please share these with Colin Campbell and/or Charandeep Singh.
SCC Response To New Lockdown Restrictions Following the announcement by the First Minister of new measures restricting hospitality sector businesses to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Scotland, Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, has responded.
On restrictions to pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes:
“These measures will sound the death knell for businesses across the hospitality sector, especially pubs and bars. Restaurants and hotels, whilst remaining open, will also be constrained on what they can provide and this will place a large dent in their already reduced income.
“Closures and restrictions will severely tamp down any signs of life in our town centres, particularly in the central belt health board areas, which have already been devastated by offices still remaining closed, cancellation of Christmas markets and other major events.
“While the stay local message may align with public health messaging, it will impact nationwide support for hospitality businesses during the October holiday period. The knock-on impact will mean tough decisions including the risk of potentially more redundancies.”
On business engagement and consultation, Liz Cameron continued:
“A complete and utter lack of consultation with business only serves to compound the blows of these restrictions.
“In the vast majority of cases, the recent growth and spread of the virus is not coming from business-managed environments. In most instances, employers are playing an effective and deeply engaged role in the fight against the spread of the virus.
“We simply cannot continue to keep switching the lights of the economy on and off.
"Where is the plan to show that this action will stop the spread and where is the plan to manage working and living with the risks of this pandemic in the medium term are questions businesses are asking.”
On funding support for businesses, Liz Cameron, said:
“We now need to see firm commitment from the UK Government as to what immediate support is going to be available to support businesses recovery.
"The funding package announced by the Scottish Government is long overdue, but welcome nonetheless. We will look closely at the detail of these packages but we fear they will not be enough to avoid the worst of consequences for the Scottish economy.
“We also need to ensure those businesses that have not been able to reopen yet such as soft play are also able to access this lifeline support.”
Latest Coronavirus Statistics The daily update outlining the key statistics related to Covid-19 cases so far...
OTHER NEWS
Barclays To Provide £250m To Help Farmers Drive Sustainability Barclays has launched a £250 million programme to help UK farmers drive sustainability through Agri-tech.
Barclays has teamed up with Nigel Owens MBE, world-renowned rugby union referee and Welsh cattle farmer, to launch a new campaign to drive awareness amongst consumers on the benefits of helping the food system become carbon net-zero.
Sustainability Through Agri-Tech will support businesses to become carbon net-zero through Agri-Tech solutions.
In a survey of 276 Scottish farmers from a larger sample of 1,000 across the UK, eight in ten (84%) said that they believe they could be carbon neutral by 2035. This is ahead of the target set by the Scottish Government to reduce the country’s emissions of all greenhouse gases to net zero by 2045.
Barclays has also uncovered a growing appetite among the Scottish population for carbon neutral foods, with research indicating that the average Scot would pay £190.84 per year on top of their shopping basket totals for more sustainable produce. When taking the whole population of Scotland into account, this totals over £840 million of additional spend.
Almost two-thirds of Scottish farmers (58%) said that the UK needs a more resilient food system to cope with rising temperatures, and 61% revealed sustainability and business efficiency to be their farm’s top priorities.
Tesco Profits Surge As Online Orders Double Supermarket giant Tesco has seen first-half profits rise by more than a quarter as customers bought more food during the pandemic and online orders doubled.
Pre-tax profit for the 26 weeks to 29 August was £551m, 28.7% up on 2019.
It is Tesco's first set of results under its new chief executive, Ken Murphy, who started last week. He replaces Dave Lewis, who had been running the UK's biggest retailer since 2014.
With more customers turning to online shopping, Tesco more than doubled delivery capacity to 1.5 million slots a week during the first half, including serving 674,000 vulnerable customers.
While demand for food rose, clothing fared less well, with sales down 17.2%.
Like many of its rivals, Tesco was forced to overhaul its strategy in-store and online amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Operating profit figures told a different story, however, falling 15.6% to £1.037bn. One of the items dragging down the balance sheet was Tesco Bank, which made a loss of £155m.
Tesco said sales in the UK and Ireland rose 8.6% to £24.3bn, with overall revenue of £28.7bn. But it added that coronavirus-related costs had hit £533m. UK food sales went up 9.2% during the period, the retailer said.
Support For Those Affected By Redundancy Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) is the Scottish Government’s initiative dedicated to responding to redundancy situations.
It’s a partnership of organisations, which includes the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, dedicated to providing free and impartial advice, guidance and support during redundancy.
PACE can help businesses by supporting employees through the redundancy process. PACE is available to all individuals affected by redundancy, no matter the size of the business.
PACE Advisers have extensive experience of dealing with redundancy situations and can:
Skills Development Scotland leads on the delivery of PACE on behalf of the Scottish Government and a number of partners.
RECAP: DAILY UPDATES
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.
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