New COVID-19 Business Support Outlined by the Scottish Government earlier today, these new and temporary business support funds will be administered by Local Authorities, providing one-off grants to businesses directly impacted by the restrictions implemented on 9 October 2020.
Further details of this funding can be found below:
The first round of applications are targeted on:
How to apply
SCC Response To New Business Lockdown Support Responding, Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce said:
“As always, speed and cash out the door is critical if we are to have any chance of saving jobs. It will have been 10 days from when we were forced to close and send our employees home that this support will be available.
“To be clear, business environments are safe places. They should be allowed to trade while protecting staff and customers. If further restrictions are imposed then government must ensure that financial support is in place immediately and at the right level.
“Further details of how to apply for these funds have now been published and we urge those businesses who have been affected to apply as soon as application processes are open for the new funds.”
COVID-19 Restrictions To Remain The wearing of face coverings is to become mandatory in communal workplace areas, such as corridors, canteens and social spaces, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced today.
During a statement to Parliament, which was delivered virtually, the First Minister also announced that the business support scheme will start taking online applications from Tuesday 20 October.
In total, £40 million of support is available, including a £20 million grant fund which will be administered by local authorities.
Changes to face covering regulations are:
Existing COVID-19 restrictions will remain in place and will be kept under review.
The regulations for face coverings do not currently apply to school, early learning and childcare settings.
OTHER NEWS
Scottish Office Market Sees ‘Marked Improvement’ In Q3 The Scottish office market’s performance saw ‘marked improvement’ in the third quarter of this year, according to real estate advisor CBRE.
Over the third quarter of the year, office take-up in Edinburgh was the highest it has been since Q2 2018, with 315,977 sq ft of office space transacted, a 135% increase from the same period in 2019 and 73% up on the five-year average.
This brings the total take-up for 2020 so far to 473,483 sq ft, which is just 4.7% down on the same period in 2019, bringing levels more in line on a year-on-year basis.
Take-up for the Glasgow office market totalled 86,615 sq ft during the third quarter of 2020, a 76% drop from the same period in 2019 and 66% down on the Q3 five-year average.
This brings the total take-up for the year so far to 343,359 sq ft, which is 48% down on the same period in 2019.
In the third quarter of 2020, office take-up in Aberdeen totalled 81,723 sq ft, a drop of 33% from the same period in 2019 but up almost 150% from the previous quarter.
This brings the total take-up for the year to 268,871 sq ft, which is encouragingly still marginally up on the same period in 2019.
The quarter’s strong performance in Edinburgh is mainly down to investment management firm Baillie Gifford’s pre-letting of Buildings 4 and 5 at The Haymarket development (pictured), a deal which represents Edinburgh’s largest ever pre-let, totalling an estimated 280,000 sq ft.
Without this deal, Edinburgh’s take-up totalled 35,977 sq ft, an increase of 33% from the previous quarter.
New Interim CEO At Scottish Enterprise Linda Hanna has been appointed interim CEO at Scottish Enterprise and will take up this position tomorrow, Thursday 15 October. Steve Dunlop will leave Scottish Enterprise at the end of October, allowing for a two week overlap to ensure a smooth transition.
Linda is currently a member of the Executive Leadership Team and has substantial experience working within the organisation in senior leadership roles and a deep understanding of economic development.
Welcoming the appointment, Scottish Enterprise chair Lord Smith said:
“Linda will provide stability and continuity for the organisation in the short term, until a permanent CEO is appointed through the full Public Appointments process being led by the Scottish Government.
“I am confident that this is the best interim arrangement for Scottish Enterprise and its customers, providing strong and effective leadership for the period ahead. I look forward to supporting Linda as she settles into her new role.”
Linda added:
"I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to lead an organisation with committed colleagues that I know so well.
"I’ll give my absolute best in the time I am interim CEO, particularly at such a critical time for Scotland’s businesses and communities as we start to build Scotland’s green economic recovery.”
UK Gov Outlines Approach To Protect Future Of Cash Under new UK Government proposals, cashback without a purchase could be widely available from retailers of all sizes in local communities across the UK.
Although cash use is declining, with people increasingly choose cards, mobile and e-wallets to make payments, it remains crucial for groups across the UK - including the elderly and vulnerable. Many find that cash is more accessible than digital payments methods or that it helps them to budget and manage their finances.
These proposals also include making the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) responsible for ensuring the cash system benefits consumers and SMEs.
The UK Government is seeking views on its approach to this legislation from consumer organisations, businesses, financial institutions, providers of ATM and payment services and others through a call for evidence.
One proposal under consideration is cashback without a purchase, which could help to keep cash widely available by reducing cash infrastructure costs.
When local shops accept and dispense cash, it is recycled through local communities and there is less need to transport and distribute notes and coins via cash centres, which reduces the associated costs.
Last year, consumers received £3.8 billion of cashback when paying for items at a till – making it the second most used method for withdrawing cash in the UK behind ATMs.
The government is also considering giving the FCA overall responsibility for maintaining a well-functioning retail cash system given its existing regulatory role and consumer protection objective.
The call for evidence opens today and will run for six weeks. It will seek views on how to ensure industry continues to offer ways to withdraw and deposit cash, how to improve cashback, what affects cash acceptance, and where regulatory responsibility should sit.
Webinar: Employing Talent From Europe And Beyond What's changing in January 2021 and what should employers be doing to prepare?
Scottish Chambers of Commerce is working with Talent Scotland to raise awareness with Scottish-based SMEs on the imminent changes to the UK immigration system coming into effect from January 2021.
For Scottish employers faced with skills shortages in the domestic labour market, recruiting talent from overseas is often critical to the growth of the business.
With the imminent changes to the UK immigration system as a result of Brexit, the aim of this webinar is to inform companies about the changes to the immigration system and what they will need to do to prepare if they wish to access talent from EEA and further afield once the free movement of people ends.
This 60 minute webinar is aimed at Scottish based SMEs. The webinar will be hosted by Scottish Chambers, led by Talent Scotland and supported by their immigration specialists Brodies LLP, and will cover:
The webinar will be held on Wednesday 21 October 2020 at 10:00am – 11:00am BST.
If you wish to attend the webinar please share the company details and email address to Ros Wardley-Smith.
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
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.
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