East Lothian Food and Drink Newsletter

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BID UPDATES

EAST LOTHIAN FOOD & DRINK RENEWAL

East Lothian Food and Drink Ltd was established as a Business Improvement District in June 2016 for an initial term of five years, following a successful vote by local food and drink businesses.

For the BID to continue for a further five year period, a renewal ballot of levy payers must take place at the end of the initial five year term.

The renewal ballot process will allow businesses to collectively choose to invest in East Lothian's food and drink sector via the Business Improvement District and will provide businesses with the opportunity to craft and shape the future growth and development of East Lothian Food and Drink.

Over the next few months, we will be engaging with levy payers through surveys, group consultation and one to one consultations on the renewal of East Lothian Food and Drink and we would encourage you all to get involved, share your thoughts and help shape the future of the BID. It is really important that we engage with as many levy payers as possible to ensure that the future plans for the BID reflects the needs of East Lothian's food and drink businesses.

If you have any questions about the renewal process, please do not hesitate to get in touch. You can also find out more about business improvement districts in Scotland here.

The BID team look forward to speaking to you all over the coming months!

FEEDBACK FOR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES

Is there anything you would like the BID to be raising with local MPs, MSPs or councillors? Let us know via our Survey Monkey form here.

CLOSED FACEBOOK PAGE FOR BID MEMBERS

We have a closed Facebook page for BID members! We hope this group will be a good way for members to collaborate with each other but also a new way we can share information with you all, quickly and easily.

We cannot send invites for your businesses pages to join, but you can request to join the page by searching 'East Lothian Food and Drink Members' on Facebook.

Look forward to seeing you all on the page!

BUSINESS SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE

SELF EMPLOYED INCOME SUPPORT SCHEME TO CLOSE 19/10

Today is the last day to apply for the second grant of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. You must claim before midnight.

You can find out more about the scheme & the criteria here.

RESTRICTIONS FUND

Local Authorities will be updating their websites with information on the Restrictions Funds at 9am on Tuesday the 20th of October, allowing businesses to complete applications. Applications will close at 5pm on Tuesday the 3rd of November.

There are two parts to this funding;

1) Business Closure Fund

For the business closure fund you must be a hospitality or other business required by law to close under the new restrictions.

2) For the discretionary business hardship fund, you must be:

a hospitality business and some gyms, required by the regulations to operate in a restricted way.
a producer/wholesale business based in Scotland supplying primarily short-life goods or produce to hospitality businesses required by the regulations to close or operate in a restricted way and able to evidence a 25% reduction in turnover during the brake period.

The Scottish Government have provided an update in relation to the restrictions fund, including the criteria to receive funding. You can read the guidance here.

VIBES 2020

The VIBES – Scottish Environment Business Awards- recognise businesses in Scotland which are taking the lead in the transition to a net zero emissions economy or are successfully tackling other environmental challenges.

The competition demonstrates that best environmental practice is also good for business, the economy and competitiveness, and that it benefits the area in which we work, live and relax. VIBES rewards those who have addressed sustainable development issues in the work place and inspire others to follow their example.

The submissions for VIBES must be submitted via email before 5pm on Friday 30^th October 2020. You can find out more here.

WEBINARS FOR EU EXPORT

DEFRA are hosting a series of free webinars for exporters of animals and products of animal origin (POAO) to the EU. There are webinars on the following topics:

Fresh and Frozen Products of Animal Origin.
Products of Animal Origin
Fish and fishery products
Dairy products
Poultry products
Animal feed products
Meat products.
Live animals and livestock
Equines.
Composite goods.
High risk foods not of animal origin.
Labelling and marketing standards for goods exported from GB to EU.
Export Health Certificates

You can find out more about the webinars here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/webinars-for-exporters-of-animals-and-products-of-animal-origin-to-the-eu

ONLINE TRAINING FOR HEALTHIER RECIPE FORMULATION

Food and Drink Federation Scotland are hosting free online training sessions looking at healthier recipe formation and healthier ingredient alternatives.

There are two sessions: one for cakes and biscuits, and another for sweet and savoury pastry.

The sessions will cover:

Current legislation and nutritional targets
Review of useful ingredients
Functional and sensory issues when recipes are altered
Input from ingredient suppliers
A Q&A session.

The training is being delivered by Queen Margaret University, Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation and is funded through the Scotland Food & Drink Opportunities fund.

You can find out more here.

Updated: FOOD STANDARDS SCOTLAND: COVID19 GUIDANCE FOR FOOD OPERATORS AND THEIR EMPLOYEES

Food Standards Scotland have COVID19 guidance for food operators and their employees. This was updated on 8th of October. You can find the guidance here.

EAST LOTHIAN COUNCIL'S GUIDANCE FOR REOPENING

East Lothian Council have a section of their website with guidance and information for businesses that are re-opening, including donwloadable 'Stay Safe, Support Local, Love East Lothian' posters.

Click here to visit the page.

KICKSTART SCHEME

The recently launched Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new job placements for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment

East Lothian Works are acting as a gateway organisation for the governments Kickstart initiative.

If any businesses are interested in using this program to offer a 6 month placement for a young person (aged 16-24) please contact Daniel Steven by emailing dstevens@eastlothian.gov.uk to register your interest.

Daniel Stevens will answer any queries you may have about the process to hire a young person using the Kickstart program and using East Lothian Works as the Gateway Organisation.

GENERAL GUIDANCE

1) Guidance for workers and employers on returning to work safely can be found on the Scottish Government website. Sector guidance is also available on the Scottish Government Website.

2) Food Standards Scotland have information and Q&A about Coronavirus and food as well as covid-19 guidance for food business operators and their employees.

3) You can find out information about the support available from Companies House for businesses here.

4) You can download a copy of Scotland's route map through and out of the COVID19 crisis here.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Please note that local businesses DO NOT need to hire any agents or third parties to claim the government COVID-19 grants. Economic Development and the Business Rates teams at East Lothian Council can assist you. Contact economicdevelopment@eastlothian.gov.uk if you require any assistance.

findbusinesssupport.gov.scot is an up to date source of information for businesses in relation to Coronavirus.

SUPPORT FOR EMPLOYERS

Skills Development Scotland have created a portal to advertise immediate job vacancies. You can find out more here.

Advice on redundancy is available here or by calling 0800 917 8000.

The Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal have created a job vacancy site. For more information, click here.

ACAS have published advice for employers and employees on Coronavirus

HR Dept have information on Coronavirus for employers on their website. This includes a useful FAQ and a news section.

MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES

SUPPORT LOCAL DIRECTORY

Scotland Food and Drink have launched a Support Local directory.

The Support Local directory allows the public to search by region and by product type and purchase directly from a business via website or telephone. The directory will be supported with a ‘Support Local’ communications campaign led by Scotland Food & Drink and the wider Partnership through various consumer-facing channels.

All listings are free for businesses. You can find out more here.

SEAFOOD SCOTLAND- DIRECTORY REGISTRATION

Seafood companies can now register for three different consumer directories using one form on Seafood Scotland's website. Businesses can get a free listing on:

1) Scotland Food & Drink's Support Local site.
2) Fish is the Dish.
3) Fish on Friday.

To find out more, click here.