March 2020 – Page 6 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Update on Tesco response to Coronavirus

We wrote to you last week setting out the measures we are taking to provide more of the food that people need, in a safe and clean environment (writes Tesco CEO DAVE LEWIS).

Our colleagues have risen brilliantly to the challenges of recent days, but this challenge is unprecedented and inevitably, despite our hard work and best intentions, not everything has or will go exactly to plan. But we’ll take learnings, we’ll be informed by the latest guidance from the Government, and we’ll keep going.

Importantly, we need your help to do this.

With that in mind, following the Prime Minister’s recent announcement, we wanted to write and update you on the measures we continue to take, and what new things you will begin to see in our stores in the next few days.

Food for all

To ensure more people have access to everyday essentials, we have introduced a store-wide restriction of 3 items per customer on every product line and removed multi-buy promotions.
In product areas where demand is particularly high, we have simplified our range to get more of the most popular products on shelves.
We have introduced a special hour in stores for NHS workers as a thank you for all they are doing. On Sundays, they can browse our large stores and select their shopping an hour before the checkouts open. All we ask is, if you’re an NHS worker, that you bring a form of ID to store, such as an NHS staff card. We have listened to feedback and are looking at how we can extend this to include extra days from next week.
To ensure our more vulnerable and elderly customers can shop for what they need in our large stores, we have prioritised one hour every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning between 9-10am.
We know that it’s difficult right now to get a delivery slot for online shopping. We are at full capacity for the next few weeks and we ask those who are able to safely come to stores to do so, instead of shopping online, so that we can start to free up more slots for the more vulnerable.
We are looking at every opportunity to increase the number of slots available. As we increase our capacity, we will also set aside more of these slots for our most vulnerable customers.
We have more stock coming into stores every day, with up to double the usual amounts of key essentials arriving – but we need everyone’s help: please buy only what you need, so that there is enough for everyone.

Safety for everyone

To ensure we are doing everything possible to reduce the risk of infection for our customers and colleagues, we will begin to introduce new social distancing measures in stores in the coming days:

Floor markings in our car parks will help you to maintain safe distances when queuing.
Where necessary, we will limit the flow of people coming into our stores to ensure they don’t get too congested.
Hand sanitisers are being placed around our stores for customers and colleagues to use, as well as extra cleaning products to wipe down your trolley or basket.
In some stores, we will introduce directional floor markings and new signage, to create a safe flow around the store.
New floor markings will help you to keep a safe distance from others while waiting to pay.
We are installing protective screens at our checkouts.
Where possible, we will create separate entrances and exits to our stores, so that it’s easier to keep a safe distance from other shoppers.

Supporting our colleagues

We are fully supporting our team of more than 300,000 Tesco colleagues, many of whom will be affected by this situation personally or will need to care for their own loved ones. The countless messages of gratitude I’ve received are testament to the incredible job they are doing, at a time when our stores have never been busier. Your small gestures and kind words really do go a long way.
We have almost 3,000 colleagues over the age of 70 and we are fully supporting them, as well as our vulnerable and pregnant colleagues, with 12 weeks’ fully paid absence.
Colleagues who are in isolation are receiving full pay from their first day of absence, so that nobody finds themselves in a situation where they have to work when unwell.
To help support our team, we are recruiting an additional 20,000 temporary colleagues. We’ve already appointed 12,500 new colleagues, but we will need more. We are also bringing in 8,000 new colleagues in driving roles, and we are training them as fast as we can.

It’s a challenging time for the whole country, but we are committed to playing our part in feeding the nation and to keeping everyone safe.

We also need your help to change the way you shop with us, so here are a few simple requests to help us serve you better:

Please check your store’s opening hours in advance.
Before you leave home, please bring enough bags for your shop. If it’s raining, don’t forget an umbrella too, in case you need to queue outside the store.
Try to shop with no more than one other person, which will help to reduce the number of people in-store at any one time.
Please use our cleaning stations to wipe your trolley, basket, or Scan as you Shop handset.
If possible, use card or contactless payments.
Please avoid shopping during our dedicated times for vulnerable and elderly people, and NHS workers, and be kind to our colleagues as they’re working hard to serve you; we’re all in this together.

We want to thank our suppliers, our colleagues – and especially you, our customers – for understanding and helping.

We know these are some big changes, and we will all need to do our very best to adjust. We will continue to update you as things change.

Together, we can do this.

Dave Lewis

Tesco CEO

Help for the self-employed … but not until June

Chancellor Rishi Sunak made his long-awaited statement on support for the UK’s five million self-employed workers yesterday. That support will not kick in until June at the earliest, however, and does not cover those workers who have been self-employed for less than three years.

This is what he said:

Good afternoon.

Today I can announce the next step in the economic fight against the Coronavirus pandemic, with new support for the self-employed.

Our step-by-step action plan is aiming to slow the spread of Coronavirus so fewer people need hospital treatment at any one time, protecting the NHS’s ability to cope.

At every point, we have followed expert advice to be controlled in our actions – taking the right measures at the right times.

We are taking unprecedented action to increase NHS capacity by increasing the numbers of beds, key staff and life-saving equipment on the front-line to give people the care they need.

That is why it is absolutely critical that people follow our instructions to stay at home, so we can protect our NHS and save lives.

Our action plan to beat the pandemic is the right thing to do – but we know people are worrying about their jobs and their incomes.

Working closely with businesses and trade unions, we have put together a coherent, coordinated and comprehensive economic plan – a plan which is already starting to make a difference:

big employers like Brewdog, Timpsons and Pret have already said that our Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme means they can furlough thousands of staff, rather than laying them off. And we are publishing this evening detailed guidance on how the scheme will operate so that other businesses can take advantage, too
small businesses are already benefiting from Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans of up to £5 million, which are interest free for 12 months – with 30,000 enquiries in just four days
local authorities are already informing more than 700,000 retail, hospitality and leisure businesses that they will pay no business rates this year
and the new hardship grants scheme, providing cash grants of up to £25,000 for the smallest businesses, is now up and running

So if any business is struggling, and worrying they may need to lose staff, I would urge you to log on to businesssupport.gov.uk, and look very carefully at what support is available before deciding to lay people off.

I’m proud of what we’ve done so far, but I know that many self-employed people are deeply anxious about the support available for them.

Musicians and sound engineers; plumbers and electricians; taxi drivers and driving instructors; hairdressers and childminders and many others, through no fault of their own, risk losing their livelihoods.

To you, I say this: You have not been forgotten. We will not let you behind. We are all in this together.

So, to support those who work for themselves, today I am announcing a new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.

The government will pay self-employed people, who have been adversely affected by the Coronavirus, a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly profits over the last three years, up to £2,500 a month.

This scheme will be open for at least three months – and I will extend it for longer if necessary.

You’ll be able to claim these grants and continue to do business.

And we’re covering the same amount of income for a self-employed person as we are for furloughed employees, who also receive a grant worth 80%.

That’s unlike almost any other country and makes our scheme one of the most generous in the world.

Providing such unprecedented support for self-employed people has been difficult to do in practice.

And the self-employed are a diverse population, with some people earning significant profits.

So I’ve taken steps to make this scheme deliverable, and fair:

to make sure that the scheme provides targeted support for those most in need, it will be open to anyone with income up to £50,000.
to make sure only the genuinely self-employed benefit, it will be available to people who make the majority of their income from self-employment
and to minimise fraud, only those who are already in self-employment, who have a tax return for 2019, will be able to apply

95% of people who are majority self-employed will benefit from this scheme.

HMRC are working on this urgently and expect people to be able to access the scheme no later than the beginning of June.

If you’re eligible, HMRC will contact you directly, ask you to fill out a simple online form, then pay the grant straight into your bank account.

And to make sure no one who needs it misses out on support, we have decided to allow anyone who missed the filing deadline in January, four weeks from today to submit their tax return.

But I know many self-employed people are struggling right now, so we’ve made sure that support is available.

Self-employed people can access the business interruption loans.

Self-assessment income tax payments, that were due in July, can be deferred to the end of January next year.

And we’ve also changed the welfare system so that self-employed people can now access Universal Credit in full.

A self-employed person with a non-working partner and two children, living in the social rented sector, can receive welfare support of up to £1,800 per month.

The scheme I have announced today is fair.

It is targeted at those who need it the most.

Crucially, it is deliverable.

And it provides an unprecedented level of support for self-employed people.

As we’ve developed the scheme, I’m grateful for the conversations I’ve had with the Federation of Small Businesses, the association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, and a range of trade unions, including the Trades Union Congress.

But I must be honest and point out that in devising this scheme – in response to many calls for support – it is now much harder to justify the inconsistent contributions between people of different employment statuses.

If we all want to benefit equally from state support, we must all pay in equally in future.

These last ten days have shaken our country and economy as never before.

In the last two weeks we have put aside ideology and orthodoxy to mobilise the full power and resources of the British state.

We have done so in pursuit of a single goal: to protect people’s health and economic security, by supporting public services like our NHS, backing business, and protecting people’s jobs and incomes.

What we have done will, I believe, stand as one of the most significant economic interventions at any point in the history of the British state, and by any government, anywhere in the world. We have:

pledged that whatever resources the NHS needs, it will get
promised to pay 80% of the wages of furloughed workers for three months up to £2,500
deferred more than £30 billion of tax payments until the end of the year
agreed nearly 17,000 Time to Pay arrangements for businesses and individuals
made available £330 billion of loans and guarantees
introduced cash grants of up to £25,000 for small business properties
covered the cost of statutory sick pay for small businesses for up to two weeks
lifted the incomes of over four million households with a nearly £7 billion boost to the welfare system
agreed three-month mortgage holidays with lenders and nearly £1 billion more support for renters through the Local Housing Allowance
and today we’ve announced one of the most generous self-employed support schemes in the world

Despite these extraordinary steps, there will be challenging times ahead. We will not be able to protect every single job or save every single business.

But I am confident that the measures we have put in place will support millions of people, businesses and self-employed people to get through this, get through it together, and emerge on the other side both stronger and more united.

Thank you.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) – who spearheaded calls for additional help for those that work for themselves – warmly welcomed the proposals.

Andrew McRae, FSB’s Scotland policy chair, said: “Thousands of people who work for themselves in Scotland will now breathe a sigh of relief. This scheme will provide lifeline cash to self-employed people, with help targeted at those on low and moderate incomes.

“We need to vanquish the myth that those that work for themselves are universally wealthy. People like the local handyman, cleaner and fitness coach will benefit from this support.

“Like many of these government interventions, it will take a number of weeks for this programme to deliver. Therefore, those who qualify should try their banks for interim finance if required, while doing what they can to manage their outgoings. This will be much easier said than done, but with help on its way many of the self-employed will rest a little easier.”

Official figures show that there are 320,000+ self-employed people in Scotland.

Andrew McRae said: “Throughout this crisis, we’ve found Ministers in Edinburgh and London sympathetic and approachable. These governments deserve credit for delivering support to business who face difficult circumstances that are neither under their control nor their fault.”

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “With so many of the self-employed facing a collapse in their earnings the Chancellor is right to act.

“This is a welcome step forward for self-employed and freelance workers across the economy, from construction to the creative industries.

“It’s vital that support reaches workers as soon as possible. Many are already dealing with severe hardship.

“Unions look forward to being consulted on how this scheme is rolled out.”

Demand for Childline increases as Scottish schools close

Hundreds of children across the UK counselled over impact of Coronavirus outbreak
Almost 20 per cent of these counselling sessions delivered in the Aberdeen and Glasgow Childline bases

Childline has experienced an unprecedented demand for its services as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic starts to affect children’s lives.

There have been over 900 counselling sessions with children and young people about Coronavirus so far, nearly two thirds of which (597) took place last week (16-22 March), as parents started working from home and school closures were announced.

Almost 20 per cent (167) of these counselling sessions were delivered from the Aberdeen and Glasgow Childline bases.

Support for children worried about Coronavirus hit a peak on Wednesday 18 March – the day the Prime Minister confirmed UK schools would shut – with Childline delivering 121 counselling sessions on the issue in just one day.

Over half of young people who spoke to Childline last week about Coronavirus were counselled for their mental and emotional health as they struggled to cope with issues like isolation, arguments at home and the removal of professional support from schools and the NHS.

One teenage girl told a counsellor: “I feel really anxious, upset and lonely. The news has made my mental health worse but my CAMHS appointment has been cancelled and school has closed. I’m stuck at home having a horrible time because my sisters are bullying me because I’m autistic.”

NSPCC Scotland are in discussions with the Scottish Government and local authorities to give Childline staff key worker status as they battle to keep the vital service running, and continue to support children through this public health emergency.

While the service has reduced slightly since some volunteer counsellors have been told to self-isolate, it continues to be a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable children.

Last week Childline delivered over 50 counselling sessions with children who were having suicidal thoughts, exacerbated by Coronavirus as they felt trapped and isolated.

Other issues raised have included school work and family relationships, as children sense the seriousness of the situation through their parent’s reactions.

One girl told Childline: “My mum is being very distant with me and I am usually very close to her, it’s really upsetting me. My mum and I have a good relationship but she’s really obsessed with the news and she won’t hug me or get very close to me. It scares me to think this will go on for months. She constantly talks about the Coronavirus and my anxiety is getting worse.”

Most of the young people Childline has been supporting on the impact of Coronavirus are 12-15-year-old girls.

Dame Esther Rantzen, Founder of Childline, said: “Our dedicated volunteers are on the frontline supporting children through this public health emergency, and we couldn’t do it without them.

“Sometimes young people find it difficult to share their anxieties with their parents, for fear of worrying them further. So, it is important that families talk about their feelings, together.

“We are hearing from children who have been cut off from vital support networks such as school, and friends, and that has increased their feelings of loneliness and vulnerability. They may have pre-existing mental health issues which are exacerbated by the current crisis.

“Childline needs your help to let children and young people know that we are still here for them, and if they need someone to turn to, they can contact Childline via our website or on the phone.”

Peter Wanless, CEO of NSPCC, said: “The 24/7 news cycle about Coronavirus is causing huge worry and anxiety in young people – particularly those who are already coping with many other issues in their lives.

“Childline provides an essential service to vulnerable children, some of whom may be in a life-threatening situation, which is why our staff and volunteers are working tirelessly to keep Childline running.

“While we are all facing events unprecedented in modern time keeping children safe and providing them with a space to talk about their concerns is our number one priority.”

As well as calling Childline’s free confidential helpline on 0800 11 11, young people can also send emails to trained counsellors or receive support online via one-to-one chat by visiting childline.org.uk or by downloading the For Me app.

Extra respirators brought into use

Action has been taken to bring an additional 1.5 million protective respirators into use from NHS Scotland’s central stockpile.

The tightly-fitting facemasks, which provide a high level of protection for staff working with coronavirus patients, were not previously used because they had recently passed their expiry date.

However, scientific evidence from stringent independent tests has shown the FFP respirators continue to be safe to use.

Both the Health and Safety Executive and Health Protection Scotland have reviewed the evidence and are satisfied the stocks are safe for use by NHS staff.

Dr Catherine Calderwood, Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer, said: “The safety of our health and social care staff is our upmost priority and it’s essential they have the right equipment to keep them safe as they go about their work.

“While there is currently an adequate supply of respirators, we know there is a significant pressure on global supplies of personal protective equipment due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

“We therefore decided to test this recently expired stock to determine whether it still provides an adequate level of safety and protection.

“Those tests have shown the equipment continues to meet those standards and therefore we will bring these masks into use to ensure we continue to have adequate stocks as the outbreak develops.”

Dr Miles Mack, chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland, said: “Effective personal protective equipment is essential and we understand the difficulties around sourcing that have been encountered.

“On the basis of Health Protection Scotland agreement, we have no issue with this stock of masks being distributed for use in the NHS at this time.”

‘Women’s post-natal physical and mental health is a right, not a privilege’

In light of the current social distancing strategies and recent announcement of UK school closures, the founder of online post-natal fitness company ‘Healthy Post-natal Body’ has decided to suspend all monthly subscription fees for the next three months.

The act of kindness will be open to both existing customers as well as all mothers who have not yet used the service and would like to have something new and positive for themselves, to focus on over the coming weeks. There are no terms and conditions, fixed contracts or hidden clauses.

Peter Lap, founder of Health Post-natal Body, said: “This isn’t a gimmick or a promotion. We all have to look after one another right now and I’m a big believer in making sure I contribute to society rather than just take. Women’s post-natal physical and mental health is a right, not a privilege.”

Peter’s decision to lift all subscription fees follows the governments recommendations to minimalise social contact for at least the next 12 whole weeks, meaning many women won’t be able to see their personal trainer as often. Added to this, many families will now be facing financial hardship as a result of the sudden economic downturn.

Peter continues: “We are all facing a tremendous amount of uncertainty, stress and worry right now and it’s important that we look after our mental health and wellbeing.

“Prolonged social distancing is going to put a lot of pressure on families and my short routines have been designed so that they can fit easily into hectic schedules. Consistency is key and all you need is a short window of time to do some key exercises.”

Existing subscribers will have the next three months of their subscription charges frozen and those new to the service will be able to redeem this offer up to the 30^th of April using the code ‘3months’.

Healthy Post Natal Body is a subscription service (normally charged at £8pcm) that focuses on the physical health and wellbeing of women who have given birth. The online forum is packed with useful advice and weekly routines, focuses on the physical health and wellbeing of women who have given birth.

For more information visit https://www.healthypostnatalbody.com/

STUC warns employers over contract and health and safety breaches

The STUC has issued a stark warning to employers following complaints from workers about companies keeping open for non-essential work and pressuring employees to present for work even while business was suspended.

It warned employers that they could find themselves in implied breach of contract and face future constructive dismissal claims if judged to be endangering workers. With Government advice making clear that only essential work should continue, the burden of proof would be on the employer to prove they had acted reasonably.

The STUC also said that employers have a statutory duty to risk assess for COVID-19, as it is a ‘substance hazardous to health’, and to put in place a safe system of work.

STUC General Secretary Designate, Rozanne Foyer said: “While many employers have acted swiftly and correctly too many have not. This has caused general confusion and real alarm. Union offices across Scotland have been inundated with calls from members. Meanwhile the STUC is fielding questions by the minute from worried workers.

“Our advice to workers is clear, contact your union for support, join a union and in the meantime contact the STUC for advice. Speak to other workers and make a joint demand of the employer to present clear justification of a decision to compel you to work.

“Contact your health and safety rep if available or otherwise insist on seeing the full risk assessment your employer is obliged to undertake.”

Heart of Midlothian FC: a statement from Ann Budge

Firstly, I hope you are all well and coping with the changes to daily life and challenges we all are facing in these unprecedented times. Please do continue to follow the latest government advice and stay safe.

There are obviously far more serious concerns in the world at this time and other matters I and those at the Club would rather be focusing on.

I feel, however, for the sake of our supporters I need to address the enormous amount of ill-informed and self-opinionated commentary coming from some sections of the media at the moment (in particular from The Sun and their usual pundits).

Please find below an accurate statement regarding how we at Hearts are dealing with the current crisis caused by the Coronavirus global pandemic.

Financial Position

Firstly, let me reassure all Hearts’ supporters that our financial position is no worse (nor better) than almost every other senior football club in Scotland, despite the recent continuous supply of mis-information and malicious speculation.

In line with most other Clubs, we aim to hold sufficient cash reserves to cover 2-3 months of normal trading operations. The reason we are implementing cost control measures is because we could be facing up to 6 months of totally abnormal operations.

Given that we all know we have to plan for that eventuality, I see absolutely no reason for sitting back and waiting either on a miracle or for the Government to bail out every company in the country….in a timely enough manner. Neither of these options is likely to happen and, therefore, I make no apology for putting immediate plans in place to mitigate the problems heading our way.

Nor do I make any apology for being open and transparent with staff, players and supporters about the potential scale of the issue. Faced with this unprecedented set of circumstances, it is incumbent upon all employers to be totally upfront and open with their staff. They, too, have to be able to plan.

In light of so much uncertainty, let me remind all of our supporters of a few important financial principles to which we, at Hearts, subscribe.

Over the last 6 years:

· We have always lived within our means and have never spent what we did not have.

· We have not been building up cash reserves beyond the normal levels mentioned above. Instead we have been investing to secure our long-term future. I am hopeful that these investments will help us to recover quickly when this crisis is over.

· We have managed cashflow very tightly during these years of investment.

· We have NO external debt. While we do have some loans on the books, they relate entirely to money that I, either directly or through Bidco 1874, have provided to the club. These loans have enabled our investment programme to continue apace. Let me assure you that I have never had any expectation and nor does the club have any commitment that these will be repaid until the Club’s financial position is secure.

In short, despite the unsubstantiated claims in recent media articles, the financial management of our Club is as tight and professionally sound as any in the country.

Cost-cutting plans

Let me move on to explain the approach we are taking to managing down our costs over the next few months.

· Clearly, Riccarton and Tynecastle are now closed down in line with the Government restrictions. Equally clearly, however, we have a large number of fixed overheads, the costs of which we still have to cover.

· The Government has announced a number of packages aimed at helping companies to stay in business during this period of close down. We are following up on all of these initiatives. However, in every case the devil is in the detail and none of these packages are as straight-forward as they might seem when reported in the headline announcements. As an example, although it was announced that Banks would be able to help businesses of our size, having approached our Bank we have been formally advised that their policy towards Football Clubs hasn’t changed and they remain unable to lend to us! I would stress that we are not alone in this. This is not a Hearts problem; it is a Football problem. We will continue to pursue this but it is indicative of the fact that Football is not very high on the list of priority sectors for support.

We are, of course, following up on all other packages including Rates relief and Job Protection schemes. However, I repeat that there is a dearth of detail available as yet and it is incredibly difficult to be clear on what level of support we can get.

· Payroll, as with all Clubs of our size, is by far our biggest monthly cost. Notwithstanding the Job Retention scheme mentioned above, there is little doubt that we will have to implement a salary reduction programme across the Club. We simply will not survive a 6-month close down, unless we implement this.

I have been roundly criticised for even suggesting such a thing. However, as you will read below, our staff have been amazing.

There is wide-spread recognition that to get through this period, everyone has to stand together and do what they can. This is the approach most likely to allow us to avoid redundancies and to save jobs and contracts.

Standing Together

Since announcing the proposed implementation of a substantial wage cut across all staff, coaches and players, the media pundits have been scathing in their criticism of apparent financial mis-management; clear indications of panicking; and the very suggestion that players should take a cut in wages is clearly a concept they don’t even begin to grasp. (Possibly, because so many of them are themselves, former players.) Fortunately, our players do not appear to have this same sense of entitlement.

I have detailed below where we are in our discussions.

· On Monday, 16th March, I addressed a full gathering of players, coaches and back-room staff and explained the severity of the situation following the shut-down of football on 13th March. I explained the immediate/short-term implications in financial terms, and stressed that despite what was being said publicly, the consensus, among most people involved in running football clubs in Scotland, was that football was not likely to start again until late July/early August.

I emphasised the importance of maintaining regular dialogue to enable us to provide as much clarity as possible during these uncertain times. We set up a Communications Group to facilitate this.

· On Tuesday, 17th March, I met with a large group of Senior Managers to discuss the full implications of the close down and to consider options.

Our over-riding principles were:

1. To implement any changes at the end of April to give staff the chance to consider their own personal situations, while awaiting any Government interventions, the benefits from which would be used to limit any wage reductions.

2. To avoid redundancies and protect all jobs and contracts.

3. To treat all employees, regardless of status or roles, fairly and equitably.

4. To take steps to protect staff and players on the lowest earnings.

5. To ensure everyone knew that they should not panic and that they should discuss any personal financial challenges with their manager, HR or myself. We would do everything possible to help people meet their financial commitments.

6. Anyone who wanted to move on from the Club for whatever reason (e.g. disgruntlement, desire to go home/back to families, etc) should talk to us and we would try to help.

· On Wednesday, 18th March, I arranged meetings at Riccarton and at Tynecastle to explain the proposed way forward to all. I also spoke to Steven Naismith and asked him to relay the message to all players, who were already at home, via the aforementioned Communications Group.

Where are we now?

In a very short space of time, we were able to reassure a number of individuals who were worried about meeting their financial commitments; we were able to re-assure others who were worried about being out of contract; and we were able to expedite arrangements for those who wanted to get home as quickly as possible.

I received numerous emails, messages and visits from staff assuring me of their support and their belief that we will get through this by standing together. A number of staff and managers offered to take no salary or a larger wage reduction to enable us to better support those who needed it more.

To summarise, I asked all employees to stand together to ensure we can survive the next few months. Their response has been amazing. Most of the staff agreed immediately.

Given the added complexities around players’ contracts and the wide range of personal circumstances, a number of players are still reviewing their situations. However, I believe we will reach a good outcome as I know they want to do what they can to support the Club.

Much has been made of an email, sent by our Head of Player Recruitment, to agents with regard to potential recruitment requirements once football resumes.

We must continue to plan for football returning and make sure we are in the strongest possible position possible when that happens. I would however like to make it clear there is no pot of money sitting in the bank that could be going towards player or employee wages and there is certainly no intention of paying transfers fees under the current circumstances.

To summarise, we have consulted with a wide range of senior employees and managers and we have communicated fully to all staff in an open and transparent manner. I did so quickly, not to create panic, but to give everyone time to plan and consider their own circumstances. Cost-cutting is going to come and I see no point in sugar-coating this news.

What about Revenue Generation?

Clearly, opportunities to generate revenue are minimal. We have kept our on-line store open to receive orders but, for reasons of social isolation, we are restricted in our ability to fill these orders. Thank you to everyone who is supporting us in this manner. We will, of course, fill all orders at the earliest opportunity.

We will be putting Season Tickets on sale as soon as we can. Obviously, we are constrained in a number of ways, not least the uncertainty surrounding which Division we will be playing in, when this season will end and when next season will start.

We will, however, put maximum protection and maximum flexibility into any terms and conditions surrounding the purchase of season tickets or hospitality packages. I want to thank all of those supporters who have indicated that they are keen to support us in this way.

I have been overwhelmed by the support we have received from our sponsors and want to thank all who have been in touch and offered their backing at this time.

I also want to give special mention to the FOH Pledgers who are continuing to pledge, knowing how reliant the club is on this source of funding. Once again, we can demonstrate that we have the best supporters in Scotland, given that pledger numbers and pledged amounts have increased since the scale of the difficulties facing the Club in the wake of the corona pandemic have become known.

Thank you all and please use our website and our social media channels as your source for accurate information.

eBay and Amazon fail to prevent profiteering on essentials during crisis

eBay and Amazon Marketplace are failing to crack down on a spate of coronavirus-profiteering by sellers after a Which? investigation uncovered a wide range of products for sale on marketplaces with inflated, and often ridiculous, prices.

At the start of this month, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned that traders should not be exploiting the coronavirus outbreak to take advantage of people through price gouging, and threatened to take strong action if the problem persisted.

However, the consumer champion’s snapshot investigation suggests third-party sellers are still brazenly ripping-off consumers and using the current situation to list overpriced items that are difficult or impossible to find in local shops.

Which? found consistent overpricing of household items, including cleaning products, thermometers, baby formula and tampons – products that are all currently in particularly high demand during the coronavirus outbreak.

There were hundreds of active listings and auctions for dramatically overpriced items, including a £40 thermometer priced at £300 on eBay and £150 on Amazon. A £3 bottle of disinfectant was on sale for £29.99 on eBay – a markup of up to 1,000 per cent – and was more than three times the recommended price on Amazon.

Meanwhile on eBay’s auction site, a flurry of bids sent the price for a bundle of three bottles of Dettol spray and three packets of antibacterial wipes soaring to £210.

Which? also found that consumers were actually buying these overpriced products from eBay, despite the extortionate prices. For some listings taken down during the investigation, eBay showed that multiple items had already been purchased before the listing could be removed.

The research also demonstrated a failure of ‘filters’ and other checks put in place by eBay and Amazon to adequately protect consumers, despite both having stated publicly that they have taken action on the issue.

When Which? asked eBay on 9 March what action it was taking to protect customers from price gouging on antibacterial gel, it said it had filters in place to prevent the listing of these items. But these listings continue reappearing, suggesting the systems in place are not working effectively.

Amazon seems to be having more success, with a number of active listings disappearing during Which?’s investigation. However, more are still appearing.

Which? is calling on eBay and Amazon to take more effective action against third-party sellers trying to take advantage of consumers at this difficult time.

Online marketplaces should be bringing in far stricter controls to identify and prevent these practices of charging unjustifiable high prices for essential products. They must communicate their policies clearly and directly with sellers.

This investigation raises serious broader questions about the checks and balances that eBay and Amazon currently have in place and their inability to prevent harmful listings, a problem raised repeatedly by Which? through its research and investigations.

If the systems used by the tech giants are not capable of preventing harmful listings from appearing at all, then better manual systems need to be put in place to identify and remove them.

While online marketplaces are taking action, both claim to have removed listings and suspended or terminated accounts during the coronavirus crisis, this investigation shows they need to be doing more. If they fall short, the CMA’s new coronavirus taskforce needs to take action to stop these practices.

The CMA has already engaged with the big platforms to find out more about what they’re doing to address the issue of retailers on their sites charging very high prices for essential items.

Given the exceptional circumstances brought about by coronavirus, the government should consider how it will work with the retail sector as a whole to tackle irresponsible price-hiking – bringing together businesses, including supermarkets and online marketplaces, as well as Trading Standards and the CMA – to agree how to keep essential items, that should be accessible to all, at reasonable prices.

Sue Davies, Head of Consumer Protection at Which?, said: “Online marketplaces have taken some action against coronavirus price gouging, but our investigation shows unscrupulous sellers are still cashing in on people’s fears by selling essential items at extortionate prices on eBay and Amazon.

“These companies must make good on their pledges to stamp out coronavirus profiteering, and if they fall short the CMA must be ready to take strong enforcement action.

“The government should consider how it will work with the retail sector as a whole to keep the price of essential items reasonable as the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak continues.”

Examples of over-priced items:

Thermometers

In one of the most extreme examples researchers saw a digital thermometer, which people worried about coronavirus are purchasing to check body temperature, selling for almost £300 on eBay and and almost £150 on Amazon when the typical price is around £40.

Medicines

They also spotted Dettol Liquid Antiseptic Disinfectant, which is typically around £3, being sold for £29.99 on eBay – a 1,000 per cent mark up – and for £9.53 on Amazon.

Carex antibacterial hand lotion

250ml bottles of Carex, which often retail for just £1, were seen priced at Amazon and eBay for over £10 each. One eBay listing showed the item priced at £100 – it was labelled ‘last one’, with three others apparently already sold. Another at Amazon was available from a third party seller for £26.41.

Hand sanitiser

A 50ml bottle of Carex antibacterial hand gel was being sold for more than £100 by multiple sellers on eBay, despite usually costing around £1.50. A multipack of four 300ml Carex Aloe Vera gels apparently sold for £9,999, although we believe this may have been a test or a hoax.

Bleach products

One eBay seller listed a 750ml bottle of Domestos Thick Bleach on eBay for £6.95, despite the accompanying picture showing that the bottle is clearly labelled with the price of £1. A similar bottle of Domestos bleach was being sold on Amazon for £7.66.

Sanitary products

On eBay an 18-pack of Tampax Compak Pearl were found for £6.31, rather than the usual £3.15 at Boots. 257 packs had been sold.

Tampax Compak was available in bulk on Amazon – despite the image showing the RRP is £2.99, eight boxes were priced at £48.64 rather than £18.32.

Baby formula

On eBay, Which? found sellers offering six packs of infant formula, which is vital for young babies that aren’t being breastfed, for over £100 – in Sainsbury’s, infant formula usually costs around £10 a pack. Some sellers were selling individual 800g packs for around £40, while another was priced at as much as £60.

Active auctions rife on eBay

Most of the products above were for sale with a ‘buy it now’ price, but Which? also took a look at auction style listings, where sellers can bid for an item. Concerningly, we spotted a raft of overpriced items being aggressively bid on by shoppers, driving the price up even higher.

A bundle of three Dettol Sprays and three packs of antibacterial wipes had 78 bids with less than an hour to go, with a price of £210. The starting price was £0.01, and there were 11 bidders who quickly upped the price.

One listing for three cans of Dettol Antibacteral disinfectant Spray had attracted 38 bids with less than four hours remaining, and the auction cost was up to £49.

An eBay spokesperson said: “All the items flagged by Which? have been removed and enforcement action has been taken against the sellers.

“We announced on Friday additional measures to tackle coronavirus-related price gouging. This is a continuation of the aggressive action against price gouging, which has included suspending hundreds of accounts, removing hundreds of thousands of listings, and suspending scores of bad seller accounts.

“Specifically in the face masks and hand sanitiser categories, only pre-approved whitelisted vendors will be allowed to sell these items.

“We are continually monitoring the situation and will consider widening the ban to include other categories if appropriate.”

An Amazon spokesperson said: “There is no place for price gouging on Amazon.

“We are disappointed that bad actors are attempting to artificially raise prices on basic need products during a global health crisis and, in line with our long-standing policy, have recently blocked or removed tens of thousands of offers.

“In addition to removing these offers, we are terminating accounts.”

Update from Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Mike Coupe

Dear Customer,

I have written to you regularly over the past few weeks as we continue to change how we work in line with Government advice and in response to your feedback. Changes we’ve made already, including limiting the number of items customers can buy and creating priority shopping times for NHS workers and for elderly and vulnerable customers, are all working well.

I am writing today to tell you what we are doing to keep you and our colleagues safe in our stores and what we are doing to get food to those that need it the most.

Keeping you and our colleagues safe

Starting today, we will limit the number of people allowed in our stores and at our ATMs at any one time. We are putting queuing systems in place outside stores and will ask everyone to please queue at a safe distance of 2 metres apart. Since we put limits on the number of items people could buy, food and other essential items are on shelves for longer each day so please arrive throughout the day to avoid long queues forming in the morning. We will be reminding people in stores to keep a safe distance from other customers and from our colleagues. Customers buying petrol will be asked to pay at the pump where they can.

We are reducing the number of checkouts we open in supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol filling stations to help our colleagues and customers keep a safe distance from each other. We are also introducing safety screens at every manned checkout to help keep our colleagues safe when serving customers. We are regularly sanitising all customer areas of our stores including chip and pin machines, baskets and trolleys.

Please pay by card at the till if you can. If you are unable to pay by card and want to pay by cash, please use our self scan tills which will stay open for cash payments. Many customers are now using our SmartShop app on their own devices when shopping in our stores. This means you can scan your own shopping as you go round the store, put food and other essential items straight into your own bags and pay for your groceries at a special till before leaving. Which means less interaction with other customers and colleagues and less time queuing to pay.

Elderly and vulnerable customers

Many of you have written to me to tell me you are elderly or vulnerable and are struggling to book online delivery slots. We are doing our absolute best to offer online delivery slots to elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers.

These customers have priority over all slots. Our customer Careline has been inundated with requests from elderly and vulnerable customers – we have had one year’s worth of contacts in two weeks.

We have proactively contacted 270,000 customers who had already given us information that meant we could identify them as being in these groups. Our customer Careline is working at full capacity to help other customers within these groups and we are able to give an additional 8,000 customers a day access to delivery slots over the phone. We have already booked in slots for 115,000 elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers this week and this number is growing every day.

We will receive the government database this week which tells us which people in England the government considers to be most vulnerable. Where these people are already registered with us, we will start to write to them next week to offer them a delivery slot. We are also working hard to secure details for vulnerable people living in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

I apologise to our regular online customers, who I know are feeling very frustrated at not being able to book slots. Please bear with us and I hope you can understand why we feel the need to prioritise elderly and vulnerable customers at the moment.

Communities working together

And this brings me onto my final request. We really are doing our best to manage a very difficult situation. Demand for online grocery delivery is higher now than it has ever been. We are working hard to increase our online capacity and we are adding more slots in every day. But it is not possible for us to create enough slots to meet the current level of demand.

We are seeing communities come together to work on this issue. We know that many people who are able to come into a store to shop are also shopping for others who can’t access food online or get to a shop. We want to encourage and support this. If everyone who shops in store also shops for a person who is less able, it will go a long way towards getting food to everyone who needs it.

Our teams are also working with national and local government and a range of charities to see how we can best help food banks and other community groups. I’ll update you soon on what we are doing in this area.

Lastly – thank you for all the support that you are giving our colleagues. As we do everything we can to feed the nation, your kind comments make a huge difference.

Best wishes

Mike

Trams construction work to halt

Construction on Edinburgh’s Trams to Newhaven project will stop this week to protect the safety of workers and residents during the current coronavirus outbreak.

The Council’s decision to instruct contractors Morrison Utility Services (MUS) and Sacyr Farrans Neopul (SFN) to cease site works follows advice from Scotland’s First Minister that all construction sites should close, unless the project being delivered is essential.

SFN and MUS will make sites on Leith Walk, Constitution Street, Lindsay Road and Ocean Drive safe by the end of the week before shutting down. This time is required given the complex nature of the project. Following on from shutdown there will be contractors on site as necessary for safety and security checks, in line with current social distancing guidance.

Work will continue off-site, again operating to strict social distancing guidelines, including design, planning and scheduling, as well as drawing up a remobilisation strategy for returning to the site once restrictions are lifted. The project team will also be closely liaising with MUS and SFN to look at ways of mitigating the impact of work stopping on the wider project.

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “The health and wellbeing of workers delivering key infrastructure schemes like Trams to Newhaven – and those who live nearby – is of utmost importance to us, which is why we’ve been working with contractors, to halt work since the Scottish Government guidance was issued.

“Of course, this will impact on the wider project, but nothing is more important than the public’s safety. We will, of course, be working with contractors to mitigate the impact of these necessary actions and carefully planning our strategy for returning to the site once restrictions are lifted.

Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “We’ve listened to national advice and the message is clear – we must limit our interactions with others during this crucial period. This is a major decision, and we remain committed to delivering the tram to Newhaven, but right now it is absolutely necessary if we are to limit the impact of coronavirus on the city and country as a whole.

“We are making every effort to protect the public while delivering core services and I would encourage people to do their own bit by observing rules on social distancing and looking out for one another where possible.”

SFN Project Director Alejandro Mendoza said: “We fully back the decision and guidance from the Government this week to shut down construction sites during this period of great uncertainty.

“These are extremely challenging and concerning times for all and we will do what is necessary for our staff and the public to help stop the spread of this virus.

MUS Project Director Mike Thomson said: “The health of our staff, and the residents and businesses in the local community, is our number one priority so we understand and support the decision to temporarily stop work.

“We will be working hard over the next few days to make the site safe and secure for the shut down period.”

While traffic management due to be installed on Leith Walk on 28 March will be postponed, existing traffic management on Constitution Street, Lindsay Road and Ocean Drive will remain.

Safety and security checks following shutdown will include, but will not be limited to, fenced-off worksites, traffic management signage, diversion routes, logistics hubs and the main compound and satellite offices. This will be in line with current social distancing guidance.

Logistics hubs on Mitchell Street will also close. The project’s contact centre will remain operational for any queries.

Other major infrastructure schemes being carried out by the Council across Edinburgh are currently under urgent review in light of UK and Scottish Government guidance, with updates to follow.

Several service changes have been implemented by the Council this week to help limit the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in Edinburgh. These include the suspension of pay and display parking charges, closing play parks and games areas and establishing Local Critical Resilience Centres.

Further information on services, support and how to report any concerns can be found on the Council website. If you’re experiencing an emergency or critical situation, please call 0131 200 2000.

Find out more about Trams to Newhaven online.