Foundation Scotland and OSCR to work together to revive around 400 dormant trusts in Scotland
The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and Foundation Scotland have revealed theyâre preparing to launch a brand new project which could unlock additional funding for charities and other community and voluntary groups across Scotland.
âThe Revitalising Trustsâ project aims to identify charitable trusts registered in Scotland that appear to be inactive and support them to reactivate by using funds that are lying dormant.
Charitable trusts typically provide public benefit by making grants or donations to other charities, voluntary groups or individuals. So-called âsleepy trustsâ are identified as charities that have either had no income or expenditure over the last 5 years or have donated less than 30% of their total income over the last 5 years to help good causes.
The project will also look at charitable trusts that have failed to submit annual accounts and reports to OSCR within the last 5 years.
Whilst the full value of Scotlandâs âsleepy trustsâ has yet to be established, a similar programme was launched by the Charity Commission in England in 2018 which has so far ârevitalisedâ ÂŁ32 million.
With support from local community foundations, this is now providing targeted and local support for the voluntary community sector thanks to the creation of new local funds.
There are over 3,400 charitable trusts on the Scottish Charity Register and OSCRâs initial findings have identified around 400 that may not be using their funds to full effect.
OSCRâs vision is for a trusted and respected Scottish charity sector which positively contributes to society.
Chief Executive Maureen Mallon said: âThe public expects charities to use their funds to fulfil their charitable purposes and deliver public benefit, but sometimes charity trustees need a little help or encouragement to do so.
“If trusts are underperforming, we want to find out why and, through our partnership with Foundation Scotland, to offer assistance or a wake-up call where necessary.â
As the community foundation for Scotland, Foundation Scotland will be delivering this project in partnership with OSCR. The Foundation has the experience and expertise of building local funds which provide long-term benefit for communities.
Chief Executive for Foundation Scotland Giles Ruck said âThis is an exciting opportunity to modernise many historic trusts, and revitalise others, and enable them to invest in our communities once again.
“We work with registered and unregistered voluntary and community groups all over Scotland. We will ensure revitalised funds can also provide support to the smaller, lesser-known community groups working on the frontline across Scotlandâs communities.â
The Revitalising Trusts project is expected to launch in April following the appointment of a Project Advisor. The role of the Advisor will involve working closely with Foundation Scotland and OSCR to identify inactive trusts, and support these trusts to reactive or reorganise to deliver public benefit once again.
The post is initially a 2-year contract up to 3 days per week working from home. Previous experience working with charitable trusts, expertise in charity finance and governance and strong analytical and interpersonal skills are essential.
Full details of the vacancy and how to apply can be found on the Foundation Scotland website.
Itâs a long road to recovery for many who have contracted COVID-19. In Scotland over 185,000 people have tested positive for the virus, with over 57,000 of these cases recorded within Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
NHSGGCâs Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy teams have created a new online resource to help anyone who is recovering from the virus, having distilled what they have learned from helping people recover both at home and in hospital.
The new self-management resource is available to the public and is aimed at anyone managing the many types of symptoms associated with COVID-19. It also notes the pace of recovery may be slower than expected.
Common symptoms can include: fatigue, breathlessness, reduced exercise tolerance and lack of physical strength. The resource offers advice on recovering from the virus, managing breathlessness, general wellbeing, managing fatigue, exercise programmes and more.
Lynn Glen, Physiotherapist, NHSGGC, said: âWe know that the lingering effects of COVID-19 can vary from person to person. Weâve had younger and older patients admitted to wards and intensive care units, some dealing with debilitating fatigue and breathlessness for months after being diagnosed, requiring weeks and months of rehab and physiotherapy input.
“Other patients may only require physiotherapy input for a shorter period. The length of time recovering from COVID-19 can also vary so we had to find a way to support people at home.
âWe wanted to help people get back on their feet, to gain knowledge about the virus, learn how to manage their symptoms and ultimately recover with this new resource.â
You can access the new NHSGGC online resource here:
Lorna Graham, 27, who has been a nurse for three years, was diagnosed with COVID on 8 April 2020 and has not yet fully recovered. She was off work for six months and has since been diagnosed as suffering from Long COVID.
Lorna said: âThe acute phase of my illness lasted a few weeks and I can truly say I felt like I was dying. Without question it was the worst I have felt in my life. Itâs not that I havenât been ill before. I have had sepsis and swine flu but this was different. It felt like I was drowning; at times I couldnât get a breath.
âThis all happened despite me being a fit 26 year old. I wasnât a fitness fanatic, but I was active on my days off. I would go hillwalking regularly, so you could say I was fit and obviously young too.
âIn the first few weeks I was at the COVID assessment centre a few times and was sent to hospital, although never admitted. I had a temperature, no taste or smell and just slept and slept.
âI waited to recover fully and it just never came. It was October before I felt able to go back to work.â
Nearly ten months on, Lornaâs health has yet to recover fully.
Top Ten Tips for Recovering from COVID-19:
Take it slow â recovery may take longer than you expect.
Eat well â your body needs nutrients to get better. This can be difficult when you lose your sense of taste / smell but just as important.
Sleep well â your body needs rest, take it easy.
Plan your day â especially important if youâre feeling fatigued. Plan your day and week to include consistent activity, rather than boom and bust cycles which may leave you more tired.
Deep breathing â sit in a relaxed position, breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth, lying on your front can also help.
Stay active â your physical strength may be impacted so build yourself back up with regular activity like walking or at home exercises.
Get up â easy to forget in lockdown, make sure you are regularly standing, set a timer to make sure youâre getting up once an hour.
Get out â make sure to get outside with nature proven to improve our wellbeing.
Relax â remember to relax your mind however that may be. Some people find meditation helpful.
Stay connected â speak to your loved ones regularly about your recovery and how youâre doing. We all need support.
The Scottish Government has welcomed a call from the United Nations for urgent action to tackle deepening food insecurity, poverty and injustice in the UK.
A report published today sets out the actions being taken in Scotland to protect human rights and ensure access to food for people on low incomes.
It comes in response to concerns raised last year with the UK Government by two leading international experts who act as Special Rapporteurs to the UN Human Rights Council.
Professor Michael Fakhri and Professor Olivier De Schutter wrote to UK Ministers last August about an alarming increase in food insecurity and poverty in the UK. They requested a response within 60 days.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: âThe UNâs analysis has pointed to the systematic failings of the UK welfare system that have left people in hardship and crisis.
“Far too many people have experienced austerity, hunger and destitution as a direct consequence of UK Government policies and I am disappointed it has not yet issued a formal response to highlight how this will be tackled.
“Our detailed report highlights bold measures to put more money in peopleâs pockets, including our game-changing new Scottish Child Payment and our commitment to the Fair Work Action Plan and promoting the real Living Wage.
âThe Scottish Government has now committed more than half a billion in social protection since the onset of the pandemic, including ÂŁ130 million targeted at tackling food insecurity.
âHowever as long as key levers to move the dial on poverty and inequality remain at Westminster, the Scottish Government will continue to call on the UK Government to make the changes required to protect us all so we end the need for food banks and ensure everyone can afford to buy the food they need.â
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: âEven before the pandemic began, significant numbers of people in Scotland were experiencing food insecurity. Over the last year we have seen many more swept into poverty.
âThe Scottish Governmentâs report highlights that a âcash firstâ response is the right approach, whether to replace Free School Meal provision or to make more crisis grants available to those who need them.
âBoosting incomes is critical to reducing food insecurity over the long term. Investing in the UK social security system will prevent more people being set adrift. Retaining the ÂŁ20 uplift to Universal Credit next month will help loosen the grip of poverty and will act as a financial lifeline for thousands.â
Face masks are highly effective in reducing the chances of catching and spreading Covid-19, however, inconsiderate litterbugs are leaving their soiled goods all over the place.
This problem has become so overwhelming that local councils will spend around ÂŁ20,000-100,000 of council tax payersâ money per area to clear up littered face masks.
âWearing a face mask has allowed us to keep safe this year, and itâs fantastic how many people have adapted to regularly wearing one,â says Mark Hall, spokeseperson for BusinessWaste.co.uk âBut would you pick up somebody elseâs used mask?
âIf people were as passionate about binning them properly as they are about wearing them in the shops, it would be much better for our environment and save our local councils time and money.â
The big problem
BusinessWaste.co.uk have previously reported that 50 million face masks are going to landfill each day across the UK, with face mask litter killing wildlife and ending up in our oceans.
But in our most populated areas, this problem has reached a boiling point.
More people mean more masks being used and littered, which is why local councils up and down the country are pledging combined millions to try and put a stop to this problem.
Hall: âWe are incredibly grateful to the council’s for designating the money to help clean up this mess, but if people were able to stop littering their disposable masks it wouldnât have had to come to such expensive measures.
âItâs a waste of money that could have gone towards more positive projects in the local area’s, but instead itâs being used to clean up borderline hazardous waste.â
So just how many masks are we talking about?
According to the latest report by the Office For National Statistics, 97% of people use a face covering when outside of their home.
And based on a recent survey, 51% of those wearing face coverings were using single-use masks.
Using these recent statistics, as well as looking at the current population size, Mark Hall at BusinessWaste.co.uk has estimated that 49%, of the total population, are using single-use masks.
Mark Hall went on: âIf we assume these people are using a new mask each day, one a day for five days a week, that is a lot of masks and a lot of waste.
âUnless people make the switch to reusable masks, then we have to find simple and effective ways for people to dispose of these masks that wonât damage the environment.â
Time to properly dispose of masks
When BusinessWaste.co.uk asked 1,000 people if they would pick up a discarded facemask, 99% said no.
The most common response for leaving littered face mask, was not wanting to touch something they feared would be contaminated with Covid-19.
Mark Hall again: âItâs perfectly understandable that people wouldnât want to pick up discarded masks on the street, especially when weâve had the importance of hygiene drilled into us all year.
âIt just highlights that we need to tackle the problem at the source, stopping masks from being littered rather than requiring people to go around picking them up.â
These bins would make it easier for people to dispose of masks while out and about, whilst also following government guidelines about separating personal waste from general waste.
Mark Hall concluded: âPPE bins are the best chance weâve got to protect both people and the planet from the effects of this pandemic, while keeping our streets free from face mask litter.
âWithout them, towns and cities around the UK will see local councils spending a small fortune clearing up after this mess.â
The UK Government has withdrawn from a proven scheme that has involved over 10m young people â students, apprentices and more â in exchanges across Europe in favour of an untested one-way scheme. But the Scottish and Welsh Governments are talking to Brussels about rejoining Erasmus.
How good are the prospects? Join us at 4:00 pm on Monday 8 February when we will examine why Erasmus-Plus has been such a success, why the mooted replacement Turing scheme is no alternative and how Scottish and Welsh young people should continue to enjoy the huge opportunities the EU scheme offers.
Chaired by Mark Lazarowicz, Chair of the European Movement in Scotland, we draw on the expertise of three/four authorities, including the founding spirit behind Erasmus, to explore the challenges and options ahead.
From Glasgow, Prof Anton Muscatelli, principal of Glasgow University and senior advisor to the Scottish Government, will give us his in-depth knowledge of an extensive range of economic and European issues. The university has been Britain’s biggest HE participant in the scheme.
From Cardiff, Hywel Ceri Jones, former European Commission director for education, who led the design and implementation of Erasmus and became director general for employment, social policy and industrial relations, will give a Welsh and European perspective.
From Glasgow, Rachel Sandison, vice principal, external relations, Glasgow University, will offer insights into we can best negotiate Scotland’s and Wales’s re-entry to the scheme.
From GlasgowMary Senior is Scotland’s official of the Universities and Colleges Union since 2009 and has been STUC (Scottish Trades Union Congress ) President since November 2020. Originally from the West Midlands, Mary has two decades of working within the trade union movement in Scotland.
Tragic choice two thirds of âforgotten disabled peopleâ have been forced to make during pandemic
¡ For ten months UK Government has refused emergency funding to over 2.2 million people on legacy benefits to support them through the COVID-19 crisis
¡ New evidence sent to Chancellor Rishi Sunak shows disabled people now facing immense hardship
¡ Coalition of over 100 organisations working with disabled people fear âterrible consequencesâ if Government fails to announce financial support for legacy benefits claimants in March Budget
Denying disabled people on legacy benefits, including Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Jobseekerâs Allowance, financial help to survive the COVID-19 crisis has left growing numbers unable to pay for rent, food and heating, new research shows.
The Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), a network of over 100 organisations including the MS Society, Z2K, Disability Rights UK and Inclusion London, asked 1,126 legacy benefits claimants what difficulties they have been facing since the start of the pandemic.
The findings â which are included in the âPandemic Poverty: Stark choices facing disabled people on legacy benefitsâ report â reveal:
¡ The majority (82%) said they had spent more than they normally would â due to greater food shopping and utility bills, as well as having to pay for taxis to attend essential appointments â since the COVID-19 crisis began.
¡ Two thirds (66%) said they had to go without essentials like food, heating or medication as a result of increased costs since the pandemic started.
¡ Nearly half (44%) said they had fallen behind on financial commitments like rent, mortgage payments, or household bills.
The devastating impact shown in the report comes ten months after over 2.2 million people on legacy benefits were originally refused a ÂŁ20 per week lifeline to support them through the pandemic â something people on Universal Credit have been getting since last March. The Universal Credit uplift will expire in April and no announcement has been made on whether it will be extended.
Excuses as to why legacy benefit claimants have been left behind include âtechnical difficultiesâ and âthey are getting a 37p annual increase from Aprilâ. The latest is that people on legacy benefits have the option to switch to Universal Credit, ignoring the fact that wider adjustments could leave people worse off, as well as serious flaws in the assessment and monitoring process of Universal Credit.2
Deborah, 53, from Cleckheaton in West Yorkshire lives with fibromyalgia. She cares for her partner, Steve, who has a congenital heart condition, and has just been diagnosed with diabetes. The couple rely on Deborahâs overdraft to pay for their food deliveries and heating, but now she is ÂŁ800 overdrawn and having to make the choice between the two.
She says: âBeing overdrawn makes me really stressed out because Iâm thinking âhow am I going to get this all back down?â Weâre already having to cut back on things like food, but the worst is not being able to have the heating on.
âWe both feel like weâre undervaluedâŚas if we donât matter to the Government, whereas people on Universal Credit are better looked after. That extra ÂŁ20 would be a godsend, and would mean we could put the money towards things we desperately need.â
David Allen, 62, was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1996 and lives alone in Luton. He has been receiving legacy benefits for over 10 years. David was bedbound with COVID-19 in March, and, as he is clinically vulnerable, has no choice but to have food delivered.
He says: âMy shopping bill usually comes to ÂŁ20 to 35 per week, but as I donât feel safe going to the supermarket Iâm having to rely on deliveries. The minimum order is ÂŁ25, but if your order is less than ÂŁ40 you get hit with by a delivery charge. On top of this, a tremor caused by my MS means itâs dangerous for me to use a knife or carry pans with hot water in, so I have to buy ready meals and prepared vegetables that I can put in the microware. These all come at a premium.
âIâm constantly worrying about other costs â I find myself sitting in the dark more than I should so as not to turn the lights on for too long, as well as only switching the TV on when Iâm watching a programme. I live on my own so itâs hard not to think your world is closing in around you. The harsh reality is that the pandemic has meant our bills are going up quicker than our income, and thereâs just nowhere to go to make up for that. Itâs meant we feel abandoned and left to sink.â
Over 120,000 people have signed the âDonât Leave Disabled People Behindâ petition, and 98% of MPs in the UK have heard from their constituents about the issue.
In addition, The Work and Pensions Select Committee, Social Security Advisory Committee, MPs from all parties, countless other charities and coalitions, the Lords Economic Affairs Committee and, most recently, the APPG on Poverty have all supported the DBCâs call to immediately give all out of work benefits the same COVID-19 emergency ÂŁ20 increase that Universal Credit has seen.
Anastasia Berry, Policy Manager at the MS Society and Policy Co-Chair of the DBC, says:Â âAn unforgivable number of disabled people have been put in danger of falling into poverty because of the extra costs of the pandemic â and the Government continues to ignore them.
“For nearly a year over 2.2 million people on legacy benefits have been given little more than a promise from the Prime Minister that he would âwrap his arms around the countryâ â but platitudes donât keep people warm. Many have been forced to make awful choices to help them survive â from choosing between heating and eating to racking up debt to pay for rent.
âWe have heard every excuse for why disabled people are being discriminated against, but the latest â that they can âmove to Universal Creditâ â is the most misleading yet. The Governmentâs disregard of the facts could result in people being even worse off financially. The upcoming budget is a chance for the Chancellor to finally show the forgotten disabled people they matter, and theyâre as important as those in receipt of Universal Credit. Without the ÂŁ20 lifeline more people will be pushed into poverty and face terrible consequences.â
Ella Abraham, Z2Kâs Policy and Campaigns Officer and Campaigns Co-Chair of the DBC, says:Â â2.2 million people on legacy benefits, the majority of whom are disabled, have now been excluded from the ÂŁ20 per week financial lifeline for 10 months. The Chancellorâs inaction on this has created a two-tier discriminatory welfare state which has pushed a huge number of people into poverty.
âForcing people onto Universal Credit where many will not be better off isnât a solution, what we need is a social security system that ensures people are not having to survive on the bare minimum but have the income they need to live a stable and dignified life. The Government must increase legacy benefits now.â
Re: Increase Disability Benefits campaign reaches over 119,000 signatures.
You will no doubt remember that we wrote to you back in June. Then, as now, we called on you to give parity to disabled people claiming legacy benefits, such as Employment and Support Allowance, Job Seekers Allowance and Income Support by extending the ÂŁ20 uplift afforded to those claiming Universal Credit since Spring.
Since we last wrote, thousands more have signed our petition urging you to do justice to those on legacy benefits by extending the uplift. And today, in anticipation of your Spending Review announcement, we deliver these tens of thousands of calls to action to you.
Just as you no doubt do, those who have signed our petition recognise that disability costs. People living with a disability and those with long-term health conditions tend to have lower real incomes and higher costs than the general population. This has been compounded during the pandemic, with many disabled people facing extra costs. Costs such as paying for taxis, to avoid the risk of public transport; paying for supermarket deliveries to avoid the risk of going to shops; paying for higher call and data charges to avoid loneliness and isolation.
Both the Social Security Advisory Committee and the Work and Pensions Select Committee as well as a number of MPs have called for the uplift to be introduced. The Secretary of State cited the inability of the IT systems as a reason not to implement an immediate change. However, with the Spending Review imminent where the benefit rates will be decided, this is your opportunity to do the right thing.
We believe that it cannot be the deliberate intent of Government to abandon some of the most severely and chronically disadvantaged citizens to heightened financial struggle in the midst of the destabilising, frightening and isolating experience of living with disability in the context of a global pandemic. With no immediate end in sight to this pandemic, it is only fair and reasonable to provide the same boost to those on Job Seekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support as has been provided to those claiming Universal Credit.
Disabled people are likely to feel the impact of this crisis for a long time to come. Please donât leave them behind!
Should you have any questions please contact me at matthew.harrison@mencap.org.uk.
Yours sincerely,
Matt Harrison
On behalf of the DBC Steering Group (Parliamentary Co-chair, Disability Benefits Consortium)
Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was found injured in the south of the city after riding an electric scooter.
Shortly before 12.15am this morning (Wednesday, 3 February, 2021), a witness contacted emergency services after finding a man injured in the roadway on Ferniehill Road.
Officers and the Scottish Ambulance Service attended and the 40-year-old rider was taken to hospital with serious, but not life threatening, injuries.
Enquiries are ongoing to establish how he came to sustain his injuries and officers are asking anyone who may have seen the rider prior to him being found injured to contact police.
Police Constable James Lamb from Police Scotlandâs Road Policing Unit based in Edinburgh said: âFirst and foremost we are seeking to understand how the man became injured. He suffered a head injury and was found in the eastbound lane of Ferniehill Road, just off Gilmerton Road, near to the junction with Ferniehill Avenue.
âI would ask anyone in the Moredun and Gilmerton areas who may have seen a man riding an e-scooter late last night, or any properties who may have private CCTV covering the area, to check their systems to see if this can help our enquiries.
âSimilarly any drivers in the area who may have seen the rider prior to him being found injured, and especially if recording with dash cam, should provide any relevant information or footage to officers as soon as possible.â
Those with information should contact Police Scotland on 101 and quote incident number 0019 of 3 February. An anonymous report can be given to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Following a previous appeal regarding a man found injured after riding an electric scooter in the Ferniehill Road area of Edinburgh on Wednesday, 3 February, Police Scotland can now confirm that a 48-year-old man has been charged in connection with a number of road traffic offences.
A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
A jump of 25% in the rat population during 2020 has increased the pest control workload in most areas of the UK, as rats migrate from city centre commercial areas to inner city residential â increasing reports from worried residents about rat sightings.
Reports of rats being seen in open public areas during lockdown are common, with Council pest control departments being sent an increasing number of reports of rats in inner city residential areas as rats migrate in the search for food and shelter.
âLockdown is presenting a serious challenge for pest controllers, none more so than where financial cuts and social distancing is hampering Local Authority departments in their ability to tackle rat populations. This is not only a funding issue â the population of rats is growing, and the ability to control them with traditional means is decreasing as 74% of UK rats have been shown to carry immunity to popular poisonsâ, explains Jenny Rathbone of Pest Controller Pest.co.uk
Areas such as Bridgend where Councillor Nicole Burnett, cabinet member for social services and early help reported: âThere does seem to be an increase in the rat population in residential areas, particularly residential areas close to town centres.â They have seen an increase of 47% in the reports of rat problems since 2016.
Cardiff is suffering a similar problem, Gill Lewis from Caerphilly County Borough Council stated: âthere has been a significant increase in pest control requests since March 2020 because âmore people are at home and seeing more pest activity than they usually wouldâ.
âThe big problem we face is that residents of more deprived inner-city areas tend to use Local Authority services to treat rodent problems, and itâs these areas rats are moving to during lockdown â any cuts to services will end up impacting the poorest the hardest â and we all know cuts are comingâ, Rathbone adds.
UK Rat Population grew 25% last year (Source Pest.co.uk)
2019 â 120m
2020 â 150m
The issues currently affecting the control of the rat population in the UK are:
The first lockdown in March 2020 allowed rats to get a foothold, and breed well. The population increased 25% in 2020 from 120 million to 150 million.
Traditional pest control methods are becoming ineffective as the 2019-20 Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use survey of rats showed that 74% of rats in the UK carried a resistance gene to popular rodenticides, and even more worrying in some locations in the UK, 20% have two different genes, making them super resistant (Source)
Pressure on Local Authority Pest Control departments to provide more services, with ever increasing strain on finances.
Pest.co.uk is advising anyone living in inner-city urban areas to take proactive measures before problems start, these include:
Block up holes â Fill any gaps in brickwork, shed doors and any holes on external walls of your home including cellars and attics
Clear cupboards â Empty unused cupboards of bags, clothes, rags and keep them clean
Secure all food sources â Make sure food is not left out, tidy away any open food sources and keep worktops and floors clean of crumbs
Prepare traps â by leaving out rat traps you can pre-empt any future infestation, however it is better to bait with official rat poison than leaving food scraps out
â2021 could be interesting. The longer the lockdown continues, the higher the risk that rats get a real foothold that will be hard to control come summerâ, concludes Jenny Rathbone of Pest Controller Pest.co.uk
An additional ÂŁ500,000 will be made available to health boards this financial year to provide dedicated mental health support for health and social care staff during the (Coronavirus) COVID-19 pandemic.
Health Boards will be able to immediately recruit psychologists and other staff dedicated to supporting the mental health of the health and social care workforce. This funding will be followed by a further ÂŁ1 million in each of the next two financial years.
Mental Health Minister Clare Haughey said: âWe are doing our best to support health and social care staff, to ensure that they have the resources they require to look after themselves, and that they can get help if necessary.
âWe are providing Boards with additional funding via NHS Education for Scotland to deliver a workforce development programme to increase capacity and capability to provide psychological therapies and interventions for health and social care staff if and when they need it.
âWe have asked our NHS and social care staff to work through unprecedented times and often in unfamiliar settings. Many have been asked to learn new skills and work in new roles in unfamiliar teams.
âThey all, too, have had to adjust to the impact the pandemic has had on our personal lives and communities, including having to care for their own families. This has been, and continues to be a huge ask and we are deeply grateful for the hard work, commitment and professionalism of those working in health and social care, at this time of unprecedented challenge.â
Staff are encouraged to make use of available support that is available through the National Wellbeing Hub or by calling the 24 Hour Wellbeing Helpline on 0800 111 4191. Since launching, over 64,000 people have used the hub.
Bank of Scotlandâs Business Barometer for January 2021 shows:
Overall confidence of firms in Scotland fell 23 points in the past month to -32%
52% of firms are confident the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out will boost trading prospects in 2021
Optimism falls in seven of 11 UK regions and nations as firms deal with latest lockdown restrictions
Business confidence in Scotland fell 23 points during January to -32%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking.
Companies in Scotland reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down 20 points to -27%. When taken alongside their views of the economy, down 25 points to -37%, this gives a headline confidence reading of -32%.
The Business Barometer questions 1,200 businesses monthly and provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.
The majority (65%) of firms said current Covid-19 restrictions had caused a fall in turnover but they expected the effects of the vaccine programme to boost trading prospects for 2021, with 52% saying the rollout had made them feel more confident about the year ahead. However, only 11% expect trading levels to return to pre-pandemic levels in the next twelve months.
When it comes to jobs, a net balance of 28% of businesses in Scotland expect to reduce staff levels over the next year, down five points on last month.
At UK level, overall business confidence dipped in January as the latest lockdown restrictions came into force, falling by three points to -7%. Firmsâ economic optimism dropped dramatically month-on-month, decreasing by 34 points to -10%.
Almost all UK nations and regions saw a month-on-month dip in confidence during January, with the biggest falls after Scotland (-32% vs -9% in December) being reported in Wales (-20% vs -1% in December) and the South West (-8% vs 5% in December).
However, firms reported a month-on-month increase in confidence in London (up five percentage points to 3%), the South East (up seven percentage points to -4%) and North West (up eight percentage points to -5%). Yorkshire business confidence remained steady month-on-month at -4%.
âWe know Scottish businesses have been resilient since the pandemic began and the vaccination roll-out is boosting firmsâ optimism about the coming months. Weâll be by the side of businesses to help them navigate both the short-term challenges and long-term opportunities ahead.â
In the industry sectors confidence remained above pre-vaccine levels (chart 4). While some sectors reported declines, manufacturing slipped by nine points to 9%, services fell by four points to -9% and retail by five points to 6%. Confidence levels in the construction sector improved for a second month, rising four points to -1%.
Paul Gordon, Managing Director for SME and Mid Corporates, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: âIt has not been an easy start to 2021, but nonetheless businesses continue to persevere and remain resilient in the face of uncertainty and change â the construction sectorâs confidence improving for a second month and more broadly, industry and the majority of the regional confidence sitting above pre-vaccine levels.
“While the road ahead will be challenging, we hope the news of the vaccine rollout progress will positively impact regional and sector confidence in the coming months.â
Hann-Ju Ho, Senior Economist, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said:âIt has been a challenging start to the New Year for UK businesses adapting to a third national lockdown alongside the new EU trade arrangement taking effect.
“Nevertheless, while confidence remains below average, it is encouraging that business sentiment is still the second highest since the low of May 2020. Overall, the vaccine rollout programme has lifted confidence and that will hopefully buoy business optimism in the coming months.â
