Uncategorized – Page 204 – The NEN

Over 54,000 Scottish SMEs fear closure from second UK lockdown

An estimated 35,070 Scottish SME*s (small and medium-sized enterprises) say it is likely their business will close permanently in the next 12 months as a result of the coronavirus crisis, with this figure rising to 54,776 in the event that a second national lockdown is introduced, according to a recent survey by Virgin Money*.

The research is reported in the latest Virgin Money Business Pulse, which provides a comprehensive insight into the performance of the UK’s SMEs and the environment in which they operate.

Across the UK as a whole, the survey, which was conducted in early September, revealed that almost one million SMEs fear they could close if there was a second lockdown. Two-thirds (66%) of SMEs said their profits were lower in April because of COVID-19 disruptions, including 21% whose profits took a hit of more than 50%.

Despite lockdown restrictions easing over the summer months, 64% of profits SMEs’ profits over the past 30 days decreased due to coronavirus-related disruption, compared to expected profits for this period prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. 55% of these businesses believe it will take more than six months for profits to recover to pre-lockdown levels.

Underlining the continuing precarious situation for SMEs, 17% of businesses say it is very likely or somewhat likely they will be forced to close permanently in the next 12 months. This number rises to almost a quarter (24%) when considered in the context of a potential second national lockdown, similar to that seen in March and April.

A key turning point for SMEs will be the closure of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme at the end of October. 42% of SMEs (excluding sole traders) expect their workforce to be smaller in December than it is in September. The new Job Support Scheme coming into force on 1 November is less generous than the furlough scheme, and so represents a significant withdrawal of fiscal stimulus.

However, the survey also uncovers some positives, with 15% of SMEs stating their profits were unaffected during lockdown and 10% noting their profits were higher, as demand for specific products, such as food and PPE, increased.

In addition, the lockdown has prompted almost a quarter (23%) of SMEs to update their strategy, 21% to reshape their vision, and 12% have improved existing products and services.

The Virgin Money Business Pulse covers the first half of 2020, which captures the start of the COVID-19 crisis.

The scale of the challenges experienced by SMEs is reflected in the Virgin Money Business Pulse, which fell to its lowest ever level of 32.9 in the second quarter of 2020.

This was driven by record-low scores in the revenue, GDP and capacity indicators, although gains were made in the business costs and lending indicators.

Rock bottom commodity prices and falling wages have provided some relief to SMEs in the form of declining business costs. Similarly, government-backed loans as part of the fiscal response to the pandemic, led to a record jump in SMEs’ borrowing, which has improved the lending indicator.

Elsewhere in the Virgin Money Business Pulse, the new Regional Rebalancing Tracker, which records regional economic inequalities in the UK, reveals the economic divide between London and the South East and the rest of the UK has continued to widen in the past six years.

Scores are calculated based on a region’s convergence to the level of economic prosperity and opportunity in London and the South East. The tracker reached a record low of 38.6 points in Q2 2020, with the lowest levels of convergence in the North East of England and the East Midlands.

Scotland’s individual Regional Rebalancing score was 37.6 in Q2 2020, with a weak rate of business creation weighing on the overall score. Productivity in Scotland is, however, the highest in the UK outside of London and the South East.

It is estimated that in 2020, workers in London and the South East generated on average £37.69 per hour worked. In Scotland, the corresponding figure is £30.13. This means that for every pound of output generated by workers in London and the South East, workers in Scotland generate an estimated 80 pence in the same amount of time.

Gavin Opperman, group business director at Virgin Money, said: “The results make for sober reading, but they are unsurprising given the extraordinary disruption of the last six months.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the deepest recession on record and recovery is slow, despite the national GDP figures regaining ground. The UK’s SMEs have experienced unprecedented strain, with sales and profits affected by workplace closures, supply chain disruption, diminished productivity and declining household incomes.

“Despite the pickup in economic activity in the summer months, businesses are by no means out of the woods. As we head into the autumn and winter months with newly introduced restrictions, the next six months will be critical for many businesses.

“SMEs have shown tremendous resilience and innovation this year, with some excellent examples of creativity to pivot business models and maintain operations. But there is no doubt there are tough times ahead.

“On a brighter note, the pandemic may offer SMEs the chance to continue longer-term with the new and more flexible work patterns the pandemic necessitated, helping to rebalance the spread of wealth and opportunity across the country.

“We will continue to focus on how we can best support the businesses we work with. The future is always hard to predict, perhaps more so now than ever, but we will aim to be the best partner we can be as the UK navigates through the economic recovery from the pandemic”.

*Calculated by The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), with research conducted by Censuswide from 04/09/20 to 07/09/20, with 501 SME decision makers

A Just Capital? Edinburgh Poverty Commission launches final report

Today, the Edinburgh Poverty Commission launches it’s final report, A Just Capital: Actions to End Poverty in Edinburgh.

In this blog, EPC Chair Dr Jim McCormick (below) sets out the Commission’s journey, what we have learned along the way, and what we are calling for next:

Our Call to Action in Edinburgh comes after almost two years of conversations across the city: with people experiencing poverty, the community anchors that support them, keyworkers, employers, councillors, public service officials, housing providers and taxi drivers.

This rich process has uncovered new insights on how poverty is experienced in Scotland’s capital city – some arising directly from the COVID-19 pandemic – but more stemming from long-established struggles. We set out much of what we had learned about the immediate impact of Covid in our interim report in May.

Since then, we have maintained a clear focus on addressing the root causes of poverty as well as mitigating the consequences. We have discovered common ground among people with different experiences and in different sectors: that poverty in Edinburgh is real, damaging and costly – but also that, despite the powerful currents that threaten to drive us further off course, there is enough determination in the city to embrace the twin challenges of solving poverty and reducing carbon emissions over the next decade.

We have identified six broad areas for action and one cultural challenge that should serve as a lens through which each action should be approached.

Our first proposition is that Edinburgh will only succeed in creating a prosperous city without poverty if it creates the conditions for good jobs, genuinely affordable housing, income security and meaningful opportunities that drive justice and boost prospects – above all, in the city’s schools.

In addition, a much sharper focus on connections across the city is needed – via digital participation, cheaper transport and creating neighbourhoods that work. These actions combined will flow through to reduced harm to people’s physical and mental health. Emergency food support should not become locked in as a fourth emergency service but serve as a gateway to other support that will ease isolation and build human connection and kindness where it has been lacking.

The common challenge running through all of our work is a cultural one. We call on the City Council and its partners in all sectors to shift towards a relationship-based way of working which gets alongside people and communities in a holistic way.

The experience of poverty is too often one of stigma, being assessed, referred and passed from pillar to post – a separate service and multiple workers for each need. This radical move would see public servants authorised to put poverty prevention at the heart of their day-to-day work.

It will mean new relationships with citizens, employees and third sector partners. It will take visible leadership and longer-term financial commitment. There are green shoots in Edinburgh and examples from beyond Scotland demonstrating how better outcomes for families can be achieved and fewer resources locked into multiple complex systems.

We call this ‘the right support in the places we live and work’ to signal the importance of local access to multiple forms of support under one roof and within walking or pram-pushing distance – for example money advice and family support offered in nurseries, schools, GP surgeries and libraries.

None of these challenges are new. The City Council and its partners can point to significant investment in recent years to turn the tide on poverty. But we are not persuaded that actions have been consistent, at scale, sustained over time or have poverty reduction as part of their purpose.

While Edinburgh has many of the powers to go further, we are not persuaded that it can deliver on the required social housing expansion without a new funding deal with the Scottish Government.

This is urgently needed to boost investment and to help unlock the supply of land at a reasonable price. Almost one in three families in Edinburgh in poverty are pulled below the water line solely due to their housing costs.

That compares with one in eight households in poverty across Scotland. Solving the city’s housing crisis will go a long way to delivering on affordable housing ambitions for the country as a whole.

At the same time, the UK Government has a critical role in creating an income lifeline for families in and out of work, by maintaining the currently temporary increase in Universal Credit and Local Housing Allowance – both of which have become more significant as a result of damage to Edinburgh’s job market since March.

This Call to Action is not a list of recommendations or a menu of options. Reflecting our lives, each area is connected to the others. A plan for housing makes little sense in isolation from a plan for schools. Developing skills for employment will fall short if basic needs for secure, decent housing and food are neglected.

Nor is the ten-year horizon a get-out clause. We have worked on this basis because Scotland has committed to a significant cut in child poverty by 2030 and because many of the city’s existing plans run to the same schedule. We call on the City Council and the wider Edinburgh Partnership to set out its initial response by Christmas, as part of a first year of planning and early implementation.

And we are leaving a legacy through a new independent network, End Poverty Edinburgh. Led by Commission member Zoe Ferguson and our partners at Poverty Alliance, this brings together a core group of residents with first-hand experience of living on a low income and allies who want to be part of shaping the solutions.

Inspired by a similar approach in Edmonton (Alberta), they will stress test this report, challenge and add their own ideas, work with city partners to achieve progress but also hold the city to account on its response.

I want to thank everyone who contributed to our work in the hard graft of sharing painful stories, completing surveys and through organised and chance conversations.

Each member of the Commission gave their time, energy and ideas generously and for longer than originally asked. The quotes in this report reflect only a little of their brilliant contributions. Our work – and this report – was only possible due to the skill, care and patience brought by our secretariat team of Chris Adams, Nicola Elliott, Ciaran McDonald, and Gareth Dixon.

We have listened, been shocked and inspired – I hope we have done justice to what we have learned. Our Call to Action sets out something beyond hope: it is an expectation of what the city can and must now achieve.

Dr Jim McCormick, Chair of Edinburgh Poverty Commission

Read the final report here and the supplementary data and evidence paper here.

Emergency funding support for Edinburgh theatres

Performing arts venues across Edinburgh and the Lothians have received £1,325,698 from the open call for applications to the Scottish Government’s Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund through Creative Scotland.

Awards made to Edinburgh and the Lothians performing arts venues as part of the £5million open call are as follows:

Assembly (The Roxy), £85,000
Capital Theatres Trust (Festival Theatre and King’s Theatre), £250,000
Edinburgh City Council (Usher Hall), £240,450
Howden Park Theatre, £95,000
Leith Theatre, £138,214
Out of the Blue, £67,034
Queen’s Hall, £175,000
The Brunton Theatre, £250,000
The Regal, Bathgate, £25,000

Designed to support performing arts venues that cannot yet re-open due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fund is helping to:

Remove the threat of insolvency prior to the end of March 2021 to enable the development and delivery of activity as soon as practicable
Allow for specialist / core staff to return from furlough or avoid redundancy to work on future sustainable activity plans
Increase commissioning and employment opportunities for freelance artists and creative practitioners (between now and end of March 2021) to support continued public engagement while closed

Iain Munro, CEO, Creative Scotland said: “Despite the ongoing, detrimental impact that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on Scotland’s performing arts venues, and on culture as a whole, it is positive that we can offer some funding to help venues navigate these extremely challenging times.

“I’m also encouraged to see that this funding will help venues across many different parts of Scotland where they form such an important part of the cultural life of local communities.”

These venues are among 59 across Scotland sharing a total of £4.74million from the Scottish Government’s Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund’s £5million open call. A full list of all 59 venues can be found on the Creative Scotland website.

Jude Henderson, Director of the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST) said: “We welcome the announcement of these emergency awards to performing arts venues across the country.

“The funds will help to support the vital work they do in serving communities, providing employment and showcasing Scotland’s world class theatre and dance offer, much of which is created by our members.”

Today’s news follows the £1,719,000 previously awarded to venues across Edinburgh through the targeted strand of the fund, including Dance Base, Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, The Storytelling Centre/TRACS and Traverse Theatre.

The Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund is one of a series of measures being put in place to help mitigate the immediate impacts of COVID-19 on the creative and cultural sector, including five new emergency funds which were announced by the First Minister on Friday 28 August and are being delivered through Creative Scotland as follows:

The £15million Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund, which opened for applications on Thursday 17 September, with a deadline of Thursday 24 September.
The £3.5million Independent Cinemas Recovery and Resilience Fund, which opened for applications on Monday 14 September with a deadline of Monday 5 October.
The £5million Creative Freelancer Hardship Fund, for which we issued an open call for partner organisations to help us distribute this fund, was launched on Friday 11 September, and has a deadline of Friday 25 September. We aim to be able to distribute funds from October. The Screen element of these Hardship Funds opened for applications on Tuesday 22 September.
The £5million Sustaining Creative Practice Fund includes £1.5million for the Culture Collective programme, mentioned in the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, supporting organisations employing freelance artists to work in and with communities across Scotland. The remaining £3.5million has been added to Creative Scotland’s existing Open Fund which is open for applications from individuals now.

The previously announced £2.2million Grassroots Venues Stabilisation Fund has reached 72 venues across. Recipients were published on Tuesday 22 September and full information on awards made, can be found on the Creative Scotland website.

Updates on all emergency funds are being published regularly on the Creative Scotland website and publicised through media and social media communications.

Helping communities through the pandemic

Funding to continue into recovery phase

The Scottish Government has now committed more than £350 million to support communities during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Since March, this funding has enabled councils, charities and community groups to be flexible and respond swiftly to help people impacted economically or socially, including those struggling to access food at the height of lockdown.

The package included over £120 million to tackle food insecurity, with £12.6 million making sure 175,000 children and young people were able to access free school meals over the summer holidays.

£22 million funding was made available through the Third Sector Resilience Fund, as part of £80 million allocated to third sector and community organisations. As outlined in the Programme for Government, £25 million will now be focused on a new Community and Third Sector Recovery Programme.

This will include business support and investment to help organisations adapt to new ways of working and become sustainable, as they continue to support people and communities in response to the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “We have now invested more than the initial £350 million communities funding we announced in March to support people through this public health crisis.

“Our funds have supported people shielding, or struggling with food insecurity, or maintaining free school meals. In addition over 14,000 jobs were safeguarded with £22 million funding through the Third Sector Resilience Fund, and funding was made available for the new Connecting Scotland project to get people online and stay connected.

“This significant funding package has been instrumental in protecting the health, welfare and wellbeing of people throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Organisations across all sectors have stepped up and worked together to ensure our communities are supported throughout this time and I want to thank them for all their efforts.

“Working collaboratively with local government, the third sector, business and communities has produced inspiring, collaborative, locally-based responses to the pandemic and we will learn from that as we continue into recovery.”

Michelle Carruthers, CEO of The Food Train charity, said: “The funding provided to Food Train allowed us to respond to a 70% increase in older people needing help to access food during the pandemic.

“Food Train has been helping more than 3,200 older people during the pandemic. The funds were used to provide temporary extra delivery vehicles, extra local staff, more shopping boxes and safety kits for the staff and volunteer teams to help keep everyone safe.

“We were also able to set up COVID-19 check-in calls, making more than 9,000 calls in five months where approximately a third of the members getting regular calls were shielding.”

Read the full text of the Cabinet Secretary’s letter to the Local Government and Communities Committee.

Chancellor announces new Jobs Support Scheme

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has outlined his Winter Economy Plan at Westminster

Mr Speaker, Thank you for granting me permission to make this Statement to the House today.

Earlier this week the Prime Minister set out the next stage of the government’s health response to Coronavirus.

Today I want to explain the next phase of our planned economic response.

The House will be reassured to know I have been developing plans to protect jobs and the economy over the winter period.

Plans that seek to strike the finely-judged balance between managing the virus and protecting the jobs and livelihoods of millions. Mr Speaker,

I know people are anxious, and afraid, and exhausted, at the prospect of further restrictions on our economic and social freedoms.

I share those feelings, but there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic.

We are in a fundamentally different position than we were in March.

And we now know much more about this virus.

Public awareness of the risks, and how to mitigate them, is far greater.

And we have met our promise to give the NHS whatever it needs, with significant new funding for NHS capacity, for PPE, and, I can inform the House today, we have now provided over £12 billion for test and trace.

In economic terms, while our output remains well below where it was in February, we have seen three consecutive months of growth.

And millions of people have moved off the furlough and back to work.

But the resurgence of the virus, and the measures we need to take in response, pose a threat to this fragile economic recovery.

So our task now is to move to the next stage of our economic plan, nurturing the recovery by protecting jobs through the difficult winter months.

Mr Speaker, The underlying rationale for the next phase of economic support must be different to what came before.

The primary goal of our economic policy remains unchanged: to support people’s jobs.

But the way we achieve that must evolve.

Back in March, we hoped we were facing a temporary period of disruption.

In response, we provided one of the most generous and comprehensive economic plans anywhere in the world with £190 billion of support for people, businesses and public services, as we protected our economic capacity.

It is now clear, as the Prime Minister and our scientific advisers have said, for at least the next six months the virus and restrictions are going to be a fact of our lives.

Our economy is now likely to undergo a more permanent adjustment.

The sources of our economic growth and the kinds of jobs we create, will adapt and evolve to the new normal. And our plan needs to adapt and evolve in response.

Above all, we need to face up to the trade-offs and hard choices Coronavirus presents. And, Mr Speaker, there has been no harder choice than the decision to end the furlough scheme.

The furlough was the right policy at the time we introduced it.

It provided immediate, short-term protection for millions of jobs through a period of acute crisis.

But as the economy reopens it is fundamentally wrong to hold people in jobs that only exist inside the furlough.

We need to create new opportunities and allow the economy to move forward and that means supporting people to be in viable jobs which provide genuine security.

As I’ve said throughout this crisis, I cannot save every business. I cannot save every job. No Chancellor could.

But what we can and must do is deal with the real problems businesses and employees are facing now.

In March, the problem was that we ordered businesses to close.

In response, we paid people to stay at home and not work.

Today, the problem is different.

Many businesses are operating safely and viably, but they now face uncertainty and reduced demand over the winter months.

What those businesses need is support to bring people back to work and protect as many viable jobs as we can.

To do that, I am announcing today the new Jobs Support Scheme.

The government will directly support the wages of people in work giving businesses who face depressed demand the option of keeping employees in a job on shorter hours rather than making them redundant.

The Jobs Support Scheme is built on three principles.

First, it will support viable jobs.

To make sure of that, employees must work at least a third of their normal hours and be paid for that work, as normal, by their employer.

The government, together with employers, will then increase those people’s wages covering two-thirds of the pay they have lost by reducing their working hours.

And the employee will keep their job.

Second, we will target support at firms who need it the most.

All small and medium sized businesses are eligible.

But larger businesses, only when their turnover has fallen through the crisis.

Third, it will be open to employers across the United Kingdom, even if they have not previously used the furlough scheme.

The scheme will run for six months starting in November.

And employers retaining furloughed staff on shorter hours can claim both the Jobs Support Scheme and the Jobs Retention Bonus.

Mr Speaker,

Throughout this crisis, we have sought parity between employees and the self-employed providing more than £13 billion of support to over 2.6 million self-employed small businesses.

So I am extending the existing self-employed grant on similar terms and conditions as the new Jobs Support Scheme …

Mr Speaker,

These are radical interventions in the UK labour market; policies we have never tried in this country before.

Together with the Jobs Retention Bonus, the Kickstart scheme for young people, tens of billions of pounds of job creation schemes, new investment in training and apprenticeships, we are protecting millions of jobs and businesses.

Mr Speaker, If we want to protect jobs this winter, the second major challenge is helping businesses with cash flow.

Over the last six months, we’ve supported business with tens of billions of pounds of tax deferrals and generous, government-backed loans.

Those policies have been a lifeline.

But right now, businesses need every extra pound to protect jobs rather than repaying loans and tax deferrals.

So I’m taking four further steps today to make that happen.

First, Bounce Back Loans have given over a million small businesses a £38 billion boost to survive this pandemic. To give those businesses more time and greater flexibility to repay their loans, we are introducing Pay As You Grow.

This means:

loans can now be extended from six to ten years – nearly halving the average monthly repayment
businesses who are struggling can now choose to make interest-only payments
and, anyone in real trouble can apply to suspend repayments altogether for up to six months

No business taking up Pay As You Grow will see their credit rating affected as a result.

Second, I am also changing the terms of our other loan schemes.

More than 60,000 Small and Medium sized businesses have now taken out Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans.

To help them, I plan to extend the government guarantee on these loans for up to ten years, making it easier for lenders to give people more time to repay.

I am also extending the deadline of all our loan schemes to the end of the year. And we are starting work on a new, successor loan programme, set to begin in January.

Third, I want to give businesses more time and flexibility over their deferred tax bills.

Nearly half a million businesses deferred more than £30 billion of VAT this year.

On current plans, those payments fall due in March.

Instead, I will allow businesses to spread that VAT bill over 11 smaller repayments, with no interest to pay.

And any of the millions of self-assessed income taxpayers who need extra help, can also now extend their outstanding tax bill over 12 months from next January.

The final step I’m taking today will support two of the most affected sectors: hospitality and tourism.

On current plans, their VAT rates will increase from 5% back to the standard rate of 20% on January the 13th.

So to support more than 150,000 businesses and help protect 2.4 million jobs through the winter I am announcing today that we are cancelling the planned increase and will keep the lower 5% VAT rate until March 31st next year.

Mr Speaker, Today’s measures mark an important evolution in our approach.

Our lives can no longer be put on hold.

Since May, we have taken steps to liberate our economy and society.

We did these things because life means more than simply existing.

We find meaning and hope through our friends and family, through our work, through our community.

People were not wrong for wanting that meaning, for striving towards normality, and nor was the government wrong to want this for them.

I said in the summer that we must endure and live with the uncertainty of the moment.

This means learning our new limits as we go.

Because the truth is the responsibility for defeating Coronavirus cannot be held by government alone.

It is a collective responsibility, shared by all.

Because the cost is paid by all.

We have so often spoken about this virus in terms of lives lost.

But the price our country is paying is wider than that.

The government has done much to mitigate the effects of the awful trade-offs between health, education and employment.

And as we think about the next few weeks and months, we need to bear all of those costs in mind.

As such, it would be dishonest to say there is now some risk-free solution.

Or that we can mandate behaviour to such an extent we lose any sense of personal responsibility.

What was true at the beginning of this crisis remains true now.

It’s on all of us.

And we must learn to live with it and live without fear.

I commend this Statement to the House.

EACC meeting cancelled

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils will now meet in October

We are sorry to notify CC members that we have decided to cancel the next meeting due to be held on Thursday 24th September 2020.

Unfortunately, due to holidays and other issues, we have not been able to tie up with speakers nor obtain sufficient information on current issues to make a meeting worthwhile for those representatives who normally attend.

We are planning to hold a virtual meeting on Thursday 22nd October 2020 with a full agenda of items raised by representatives. It would still be helpful if issues of concern raised at CC meetings were notified to the Secretary in order that we can circulate relevant information to attendees.

We still proposed to hold an AGM on Thursday 19th November 2020.

We apologise for the late cancellation of next Thursday’s meeting.

Kind regards

John Tibbitt

Chair, Edinburgh Association of Community Councils

chair@edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk

Scots encouraged to continue recycling to help the environment

RECYCLE WEEK 2020

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham is reminding everyone of the importance of recycling to Scotland’s green recovery.

Green economic growth after coronavirus (COVID-19) is at the heart of the recently announced Programme for Government with £70 million being earmarked to improve waste and recycling infrastructure as part of it.

This major investment is one of a number of initiatives planned to help increase recycling and build a circular economy.

These include Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme which is expected to capture 90% of single-use aluminium and steel cans, glass and plastic bottles, and the introduction of legislation to increase the minimum price of carrier bags from 5p to 10p.

Ms Cunningham said: “Long-term initiatives to tackle our throwaway culture and encourage a circular economy – helping people to reduce, reuse and recycle – are vital to our green recovery and ensuring we end Scotland’s contribution to climate change completely.

“It is heartening to see that carbon emissions from Scotland’s waste has reached a record low – an achievement only possible by everyone doing their bit. By recycling more, we can reduce this even further and with 80% of our carbon footprint coming from products and materials we use, there is more we can do.

“I would encourage people and communities to get involved with this year’s Recycle Week. By working together, we can all do our bit to improve the environment, help fight climate change and enable Scotland to meet its net zero target by 2045.”

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Recycling as much as we can will reduce our carbon footprint and the materials we consume. We can do more by thinking differently, whether this is by re-evaluating how we work and live our day-to-day lives or by implementing new procedures to capture as much as we can from going to waste.

“We all need to play our part to tackle the climate crisis and make greater use of what we already have.”

The long shadow of deprivation

Research highlights England’s local councils with the lowest social mobility opportunities

The effect of deprivation in dozens of English local authorities is now so persistent that some families face being locked into disadvantage for generations unless the right action is taken, a new report shows today.

In the most detailed study of regional social mobility ever conducted in the UK, the report from the Social Mobility Commission identifies local councils with the worst and the best social mobility in England.

In the “coldest spots” those from disadvantaged backgrounds, entitled to free school meals, have little chance of making a better life for themselves or their children. They also earn much less than their more affluent peers.

These areas, which range across England, include:

Chiltern
Bradford
Thanet
Bolton
Wolverhampton
Kingston-upon-Hull
Fenland
Mansfield
Walsall
Gateshead
Kirklees
St Helens
Dudley
Bolton
Wigan

Individuals aged 28 from disadvantaged families in these councils earn on average just over half the amount of those from similar backgrounds in the most mobile areas. They also earn much less than those of the same age from more affluent families living nearby.

Steven Cooper, interim co-chair of the commission said: “These findings are very challenging. They tell a story of deep unfairness, determined by where you grow up. It is not a story of north versus south or urban versus rural; this is a story of local areas side by side with vastly different outcomes for the disadvantaged sons growing up there.“

Areas with high social mobility, where those from poorer backgrounds earn more and the pay gap with those from affluent families is smaller include:

Forest Heath
West Oxfordshire
South Derbyshire
Cherwell
Kingston upon Thames
South Gloucestershire
Tower Hamlets
North Hertfordshire
Eden

The research, carried out by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO), links educational data and HMRC earnings for the first time to identify young sons from disadvantaged families – those entitled to free school meals. The sons who were born between 1986 and 1988 and went to state schools in England, were followed from aged 16 to 28.

The results, covering around 320 local councils in England and 800,000 young adults, show a postcode lottery for disadvantaged people. In areas with high social mobility, disadvantaged young adults earn twice as much as those with similar backgrounds in areas with low social mobility – on average, over £20,000 compared with under £10,000. Annual earnings from this group range from £6,900 (Chiltern) to £24,600 (Uttlesford).

Councils with the lowest earnings for disadvantaged individuals include:

Bradford
Hyndburn
Gateshead
Thanet

But they also include:

West Devon
Sheffield
Malvern Hills
Kensington and Chelsea.

Those with the highest earnings include:

Broxbourne
East Hertfordshire
Forest Heath
Havering
Uttlesford
Wokingham

But those from poor backgrounds also face unfairness on their doorstep. Pay gaps between the most and least deprived individuals in local authorities with the poorest social mobility are 2.5 times higher than in areas of high social mobility.

Education, often blamed for social mobility differences, is only part of the answer. In areas with high social mobility, gaps in educational achievement account for almost the entire pay difference between the most and least advantaged sons. On average it accounts for 80% of the difference.

However, in local authorities where social mobility is low it is much harder to escape deprivation. In such areas, up to 33% of the pay gap between the highest and lowest earners is down to non-education factors, like local labour markets and family background.

Disadvantaged workers are restricted by factors including limited social networks (fewer internships); inability to move to more prosperous areas; limited or no financial support from family; less resilience to economic turbulence due to previous crisis such as 2008 financial crash and less developed soft skills.

The commission is now urging regional and community leaders to use the findings to help draw up tailored, sustained, local programmes to boost social mobility, building on the approach in some Opportunity Areas.

The commission will also ask the government to extend its current Opportunity Areas programme – which gives support to 12 councils – to include several more authorities identified as the areas with the most entrenched disadvantage.

Professor Lindsey Macmillan, Director of CEPEO at UCL and Research Fellow at IFS said: “This new evidence highlights the need for a joined up-approach across government, third sector organisations, and employers.

“The education system alone cannot tackle this postcode lottery – a strategy that considers the entire life experience, from birth through to adulthood, is crucial to ensuring fairer life chances for all.”

Laura van der Erve, Research Economist at IFS and co-author of the report, said: “Not only do children from disadvantaged backgrounds have considerably lower school attainment and lower adult earnings than their peers from more affluent backgrounds, we also find large differences in the outcomes of children from disadvantaged backgrounds across the country.

“This highlights that children’s opportunities in England are still defined by both the family they were born into and the area they grew up in.”

Key findings

Social mobility in England is a postcode lottery, with large differences across areas in both the adult pay of disadvantaged adults, and the size of the pay gap for those from deprived families, relative to those from affluent families.
Disadvantaged young adults in areas with high social mobility can earn twice as much as their counterparts in areas where it is low – over £20,000 compared with under £10,000
Pay gaps between deprived and affluent young adults in areas with low social mobility are 2.5 times larger than those in areas with high social mobility.
In areas of low social mobility, up to 33% of the pay gap is driven by family background and local market factors, over and beyond educational achievement.
Characteristics of the coldest spots: fewer professional and managerial occupations; fewer outstanding schools; higher levels of deprivation and moderate population density.

The Social Mobility Commission is an independent advisory non-departmental public body established under the Life Chances Act 2010 as modified by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. It has a duty to assess progress in improving social mobility in the UK and to promote social mobility in England.

Collaborate and create: Students unveil their vision for beauty spot visitor hub

Students from Edinburgh Napier and the City of Glasgow college have linked up to design a new visitor hub for Beecraigs Country Park in Linlithgow.

Two teams from the Scottish institutions were tasked with creating an ecologically sustainable, environmentally friendly, and inclusive focal point to the vibrant country park.

The aim was to layout a proposed building that could be constructed and deconstructed away from the intended site, known as offsite construction.

Team 2 won the first prize of £600 in the Offsite Ready challenge, when they designed a hub which would cater for cyclists, with open and accessible areas.

Team 1 delivered their presentation on a centre which would withstand the elements, including a mezzanine complemented by the carefully considered path of the sun. They received the runner up prize of £300.

From Edinburgh Napier, the winning team included digital designer Zarja Krevelj, production manager Emily Rankin, production manager Callum MacGillivray, and Agata Gaspari in charge of the summer pavilion.

The ‘Are you Offsite Ready? Online design challenge’ was sponsored by Finnish renewable materials manufacturers, Stora Enso, who donated £900 to reward students for their efforts.

Rory Doak, Business Development Manager at Stora Enso UK & Ireland said: “Stora Enso were thrilled to support a student-led design project, showcasing the abilities of students to adapt to new working conditions and produce manufacturable, sustainable and inclusive designs.

“I hope that we will see more competitions emerge, like this, that equip students with strong fundamental knowledge of BIM, inclusivity, and sustainable construction with timber. I am sure these principles will be key industry drivers in the future, and these students will continue to champion these design principles as they build their careers.”

The challenge was originally conceptualized by Edinburgh Napier lecturer Dr Mila Duncheva and research assistant for the Centre for Offsite Construction and Innovative Structures, Louise Rogers; with Catriona Jordan, from City of Glasgow College, as a way of giving students an opportunity to gain some industry experience out with the university curriculum and in lieu of the international internships usually available to students from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Engineering & the Built Environment.

Dr Mila Duncheva said: “This challenge was designed to develop students’ transferable skills including teamworking, problem solving, working to tight deadlines and collaborative digital workflows using Building Information Modelling (BIM).

“I was astounded by both teams’ intricate technical solutions and striking visual presentations and am delighted we provided a positive experience for them during the worst of the pandemic.”

The project spanned 12 weeks, starting in June. It presented challenges for the students as they learned to work together remotely, whilst figuring out how to get the best from their designs and cater for the park’s one million yearly visitors.

The Offsite Ready challenge teams collaborated with West Lothian Council to provide accurate geographical plans of the proposed sites. And engineering consultant firm SWECO who did an analysis of the project’s factors.

Students also attended a collection of lectures designed and delivered by their mentors, to help inform their designs.

With most of the mentors coming from Edinburgh Napier University, this included: Prof. Pat Langdon, Prof. Robert Hairstans and Dr Andrew Livingstone, working alongside industry leaders such as Matt Stevenson from SNRG

Eirwen Hopwood of West Lothian Council said she would like to see one of these designs become a reality at Beecraigs Country Park in the future.

This challenge was part of the wider Offsite Ready project funded by the Construction Industry Training Board and led by the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre in collaboration with Edinburgh Napier University, City of Glasgow College, Construction Wales Innovation Centre, Ministry of Building Innovation and Education and Class of Your Own.

Funding to continue into recovery phase

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has outlined his Winter Economy Plan at Westminster

RECYCLE WEEK 2020

Spartans Alternative School have won an international award for a social enterprise created by their students.

Research highlights England’s local councils with the lowest social mobility opportunities

Key findings