Day: April 21, 2020

Lifeline support for business confirmed

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop has confirmed that grant funding for the newly self-employed suffering hardship and SMEs in distress will be available ‘in the coming days’.

The £100 million fund to support the self-employed and SMEs announced last week will be broken into three separate funds as follows:

• £34 million Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund, managed by Local Authorities, will be allocated to the newly self-employed facing hardship through £2,000 grants
• £20 million Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund, managed by the Enterprise Agencies in partnership with Creative Scotland and VisitScotland for creative, tourism and hospitality companies not in receipt of business rates relief
• £45 million Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, managed by the Enterprise Agencies for vulnerable SME firms who are vital to the local or national economic foundations of Scotland

The Scottish Government is also providing £1 million to top up Creative Scotland’s Bridging Bursaries in the not-for-profit sector.

Speaking in parliament, Ms Hyslop also confirmed that the grant funding will be open for applications by the end of April, and that recipients will receive funds in early May. She said: “This funding is intended to relieve the hardship of individuals and smaller firms that are ineligible for support from the UK Government or are not in receipt yet of the funds they need to survive.

“Our hospitality, tourism and creative sectors have been decimated by this crisis and previously profitable businesses have seen demand dry up overnight.

“However, because of the decisions the Scottish Government has taken, thousands more self-employed people and small businesses will be able to benefit from support compared with elsewhere, and we have been able to help sectors of the economy that are not being supported in other parts of the UK.

“As well as dealing with this immediate crisis, we must look to the future. We must ensure that those businesses with a part to play in strengthening resilience in Scotland’s economy survive this crisis and thrive in future, which is why £45 million is being allocated to those firms.

“We continue to engage with businesses on a regular basis to understand their needs and press the UK Government to deliver for them.”

Following this afternoon’s announcement, Creative Scotland’s Chief Executive Iain Munro commented:  “We welcome today’s Scottish Government announcement of £100 million funds to support the self-employed and SMEs.

“Creative Scotland will work hard with partners to ensure that those who are eligible in the creative sector can access the new funding as far as possible.

“Today’s announcement also includes the extra £1m from the Scottish Government which we announced yesterday to supplement the Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund and has enabled us to double the budget, providing much needed financial support for freelance creative professionals most deeply impacted and disadvantaged by the cancellation of work due to the COVID-19 emergency.”

Krispy Kreme drive thru to re-open for emergency services personnel

To help show its deepest appreciation and support for the work critical workers are doing in the battle against COVID-19, Krispy Kreme has re-opened it’s production to safely serve doughnut donations to frontline and wider community heroes.

As an extra thank you, nine Krispy Kreme drive-thrus in the UK began re-opening last week, to NHS, police and fire service staff. 

From Thursday (23rd April) the Krispy Kreme drive-thru on Lochside Avenue, Edinburgh will gift NHS, police service and fire service staff with a complimentary hot drink and Original glazed doughnut 3-pack upon identification.

With this small gesture, the team behind the project sincerely hopes to bring even a brief moment of much needed lightness to those working tirelessly during the pandemic.

Proudly pledging to “serve half a million smiles” the brand has already started safely delivering half a million Original Glazed doughnuts via contactless drops to hospitals, charities, food banks, police stations, carers and other community heroes and key workers.

Further building on its mission, Krispy Kreme is recruiting a team of eager volunteers from its active staff, to deliver surprise, contactless doughnuts in their local neighbourhoods.

Meanwhile fans and customers are invited to support from home and ‘dough it forward’ by nominating deserving, unsung local heroes to receive a ‘doughnutty’ thank you. People can nominate their heroes by contacting servingsmiles@krispykreme.co.uk or via the brand’s social channels.

Krispy Kreme CEO Richard Cheshire, said: “Our mission to create smiles and bring joy has never been more important. We know we aren’t saving lives, but we hope to do something as small and simple as making someone smile. It’s our way of saying thank you to people far and wide who are working so hard to keep our nation moving, safe and well at the moment.”

Krispy Kreme has implemented a number of new processes and safety standards with their manufacturing team to protect their team members and customers., including social distancing at every step of the operation, running reduced lines of doughnuts and staff on site, appointing Covid-19 officers to oversee adherence to these processes and implementing a contactless delivery process.

The reopening of manufacturing has allowed Krispy Kreme to launch its wide reaching community plan.

More information on the Serving Smiles project can be found at https://www.krispykreme.co.uk/serving-smiles.

Over 250 care homes receive vital PPE thanks to rapid response specialists

AN EMERGENCY rapid response specialist has supplied vital PPE to over 250 care homes across the UK within 24 hours of receiving a request for the ‘lifesaving’ equipment.

Voyage Care, which has 259 learning disability care homes throughout the UK, put out a call for additional suppliers of PPE.

ECO, which has set up a full COVID-19 emergency rapid response solutions operation, responded by supplying 70,000 surgical masks within 24 hours.

Lyndsay Beal, an operations manager at Voyage Care, said: “As the country struggles to source enough PPE, we wanted to expand our approved suppliers and to add to our stocks quickly. 

“ECO had it transported to me within 24 hours. It’s good quality equipment, at a good price – they haven’t increased prices during this difficult time. It’s exactly what we needed and I’m pleased to be working with ECO. This equipment is a lifesaver.

“We have over 10,000 staff all over the UK, and keeping our staff and the people we support safe is our number one priority.

“We are following all the government guidelines. So being able to ensure we have a sustainable supply of PPE is really important for us, our staff and the people we support.

“We are also working with our procurement team to look at sourcing our hand sanitiser from ECO as well, which will also help us.

“I must praise our staff at Voyage Care as well. They have been fantastic through this and teams have all come together to support each other like one big family.”

The team at ECO, with bases in Cumbria and Scotland, are experts in rapid response solutions and pride themselves on ‘getting stuff done’.

ECO has set up a full COVID-19 rapid response solutions operation with a range of anti-virus sanitiser, PPE including masks and visors, testing kits, testing pods, medical beds, and emergency buildings.

It has already answered the call to help a factory, which has a government order for manufacturing vital material for visors for the NHS, to continue production 24/7 by supplying anti-virus sanitiser and an on-call emergency sanitising team.

Eddie Black, managing director of ECO, said: “When we heard thousands of care home staff and residents across the UK were struggling to source PPE we wanted to help.

“We have a secure supply of PPE, including surgical masks. We also have anti-virus sanitiser, and testing kits and testing pods, so we were happy to supply them what they needed.

“Care home staff all over the country – just like the NHS and other emergency workers – are doing an incredible job.

“If anyone needs our expertise, we will get our teams onto it immediately to achieve what needs to be done.”

Any organisation or business which would benefit from ECO’s help is asked to contact 01461 500 206 or email response@teameco.co.uk or visit www.teameco.co.uk for more information.

Seafield murder: man appears in court

Edinburgh Police have launched a murder inquiry following the death of a woman in Seafield.

Around 7.50am on Saturday, 18 April, the body of Jadwiga Szczygielska, aged 77, (pictured) was found within her home in Pirniefield Bank following a call to the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Roman Frackiewicz, 44, was arrested and charged in connection with her death, and he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier today. He made no plea and was remanded in custody.

Detective Inspector Bob Williamson, of the Major Investigation Team, said: “Our enquiries indicate that this was an isolated incident but we are keen to speak to anyone who may be able to help with our investigation.

“If anyone saw anything suspicious in the early morning of Saturday, 18 April, or who may have information that would help us then please call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident 0756 of 18/04/2020 or make a call anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Over 110,000 Universal Credit claims since coronavirus outbreak

Claims for Universal Credit in Scotland have increased from an average of 20,000 per month in 2019 to over 110,000 between 1 March and 7 April, highlighting the impact the pandemic is having on people’s finances.

That’s why the Scottish Government, in partnership with the Citizens Advice network, is launching a new campaign to raise awareness of the financial support available to people.

The campaign will provide information and advice on issues including rent and mortgage payments, energy bills, council tax, and benefits people may be entitled to.

People will be able to access this advice online, by phone or by contacting their local Citizens Advice Bureau.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “This huge increase in claims for Universal Credit demonstrates just how many people across the country are struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“These are difficult and worrying times for everyone, with many people requiring financial support for the first time and even more pressure on those who were already struggling to make ends meet.

“It is welcome that people are claiming the support that they are entitled to from the DWP, and I would encourage people to look into what additional help is available. Even if you are not entitled to Universal Credit, there could be other assistance that you can access so it is worth checking.

“That’s why we’ve been working with the Citizens Advice network in Scotland to create this central source of information – with everything from guidance on benefits, right through to what you can do if you are worried about paying your mortgage or rent.”

DWP entered into a new partnership with Citizens Advice in March last year, providing £39 million of funding to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland to provide this service. DWP also funded Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland a further £12 million to set up delivery to ensure a smooth transition to the new delivery model. 

Citizens Advice Scotland Chief Executive Derek Mitchell said: “The Citizens Advice network in Scotland is known for always being there to help and the support we give will be more important than ever to help people avoid getting into crisis.

There may also be lots of people who have never used our services before and it’s crucial that they know our information and advice is there for them too.

“Our national network of Citizens Advice Bureaux is still operating for those who need it – if you have been financially impacted by the coronavirus outbreak your local Citizens Advice Bureau can help make sure you have access to all the income you are entitled to, as well as giving tailored advice about what’s on offer within local communities across Scotland.

“There’s increased demand for our advice on financial services, that’s why we’ve created dedicated COVID-19 content online so people get the information they need 24/7 and from the comfort of their own homes.

“We’ve also got a dedicated helpline for people who might not be able to access our services online. If you have been financially impacted by the coronavirus outbreak and require free, confidential, financial support, please visit cas.org.uk or call 0800 028 1456.

“Local Citizens Advice Bureaux are situated around the country. To find your local service, simply enter your postcode at cas.org.uk/bureaux”