Lloyds Banking Group has unveiled the next stage of its plan to boost Scotland’s fintech workforce in the fastest-growing digital economy outside London.
As part of the launch of its new tech hub in Edinburgh in March 2019, Lloyds announced a recruitment drive to create a new 500-strong team tasked with helping transform the digital experience for Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Scottish Widows customers.
As part of the next stage in the development of the digital innovation centre, it has now joined forces with Fintech Scotland on the hunt for the country’s most exciting start-ups and young businesses for a new partnership.
The new incubator programme – Launch* – based out of the Edinburgh hub – will bring together start-ups and scale-ups to tackle the challenges of digital services and sustainability, with plans for its first industry showcase next year.
In addition to the tech hub’s team of software engineers and other digital roles which is more than 50% complete, – the first specialist mobile quality engineering team was created, adding an additional 16 roles to the tech-based talent pool in Scotland.
The Edinburgh hub was set up with the aim of transforming how the bank operates behind the scenes, creating new services and tools for customers, as well as enhancing Scotland’s thriving tech community.
Philip Grant, Chair of Lloyds Banking Group’s Scottish Executive Committee, said: “We’re putting lots of energy into shaping the financial services of the future to meet customers’ changing needs, and having cutting-edge fintech talent in action behind the scenes is key to keeping customers connected to their finances.
“We have just launched a pilot Scottish Widows mobile app to help reinvent saving for workplace pensions customers. Using digital features built by our engineers in our innovation labs, it will enable millions of people to start engaging with their pension in a similar way to their everyday banking by helping them see a clearer picture of their financial future.”
Nicola Anderson, Acting Chief Executive, Fintech Scotland, said: “Creating opportunities for collaboration across Scotland’s competitive tech scene will drive innovation as start-ups work together with established financial firms on how to trailblaze the industry’s future in partnership.
“The Launch innovation labs highlight Lloyds’ commitment to developing talent in fintech. It provides a boost in confidence for the industry and shows the power of collaboration for mutual benefit – we’re looking forward to seeing the results in next year’s industry showcase.”
The Group continues to be an active member of the wider technology scene in Scotland, hosting more than 5000 delegates at events and training sessions at its city centre hub last year as well as regular online webinars and courses.
At the start of the year – before the pandemic – it hosted more than 500 delegates at a number of events, including Queercode, the first LBGTQ+ coding meet up in Scotland. As well as working in partnership with Fintech Scotland and SQA-accredited digital skills academy CodeClan, the bank has also invested in providing training for colleagues who want to diversify into careers in technology.
It launched its own coding academy in 2018 which has now expanded from Edinburgh across the UK, as well as the WomenConnecTech network, to help provide opportunities and support to women looking to build careers in computer science. Graduates of the coding academy are now established software engineers working within the digital labs.
Businesses across Scotland are set to benefit from vital support, following the launch of a new £10 million DigitalBoost Development Grant by Business Gateway and The Scottish Government.
The fund, which is available through DigitalBoost, Business Gateway’s national digital training programme for businesses, is funded by The Scottish Government and will help businesses upskill and invest in their digital capabilities as they work to overcome the challenges they face now and build for Scotland’s economic recovery. VAT registered businesses will be able to access up to £25,000 while non-VAT registered business can benefit from up to £5,000 of funding.
This launch follows a successful pilot grant scheme in the Autumn 2020 for DigitalBoost 1:1 clients.
The fund is now open and accepting applications.
Launching the scheme, Cabinet Secretary for Finance Kate Forbes said: “The firms that have coped best during the pandemic are invariably those that have been able to adapt with the help of digital tools.
“This funding will provide an immediate boost and will support businesses to adopt digital technologies to improve productivity, increase resilience and drive growth. It will also help to improve their digital capability and the skills of their workforce so they can keep pace with future technological progress.
“Supporting SMEs on their digital journey is key to Scotland’s economic recovery, our future prosperity and our net-zero ambitions and I encourage business owners to take up this valuable opportunity.”
Business Gateway is delivered by local authorities throughout Scotland and works in collaboration with a wide variety of organisations to help deliver the best advice and support to Scottish businesses.
Welcoming the scheme, COSLA spokesperson Cllr Steven Heddle said: “The last ten months have shown how critical strong and robust online platforms are for businesses, if they are to successfully adapt to the challenges posed by the pandemic.
“Given the ongoing nature of the crisis, this scheme will be a critical lifeline for those businesses that want to digitally upskill and invest in their platforms so that they can survive, increase their resilience to current and future challenges, and find new opportunities and markets to grow.
“Alongside this grant fund, the DigitalBoost programme will continue to provide other free support to businesses, helping them take advantage of technology so that they can adapt and thrive.”
Liz McCutcheon, CEO, Lanarkshire Enterprise Services (LESL), said: “LESL are delighted to be administering the DigitalBoost Development Grant, on behalf of the Scottish Government and Business Gateway’s DigitalBoost Programme.
“LESL has long been an advocate of digital adoption and are committed to supporting SMEs across Scotland leverage the grant to allow them to transform their businesses digitally.”
DigitalBoost provides webinars, a free healthcheck, 1:1 support from a digital expert, online tutorials, and practical guides on topics including social media, cyber resilience, data analytics, digital marketing strategy and e-commerce.
Can Do Collective extends support to more Scottish businesses and champions collaborative working in wake of pandemic
The Can Do Collective – a connected community of enterprise support organisations and leaders on a mission to build a world-leading entrepreneurial, innovative and creative society – is concluding the year celebrating a 25 per cent increase in community size.
The growing portfolio of businesses is also demonstrating that collaborative working has helped them to pivot, grow and adapt amidst the challenges that 2020 has presented.
Covid-19 has had a significant impact on businesses across Scotland.For many it has meant they have had to evolve and adapt their products and services, and support for their wider business community, in new and different ways.
For the Can Do Collective, it has meant taking all of their events online, however an online and virtual approach has allowed the Can Do Collective to increase their events programme from five events in 2019, to more than 33 virtual events and gatherings in 2020.
Funded by The Scottish Government and supported by a dedicated team within independent charity Entrepreneurial Scotland Foundation, The Can Do Collective is keen to demonstrate ways in which collaborative working between Scottish businesses can help to accelerate growth and nurture entrepreneurial spirit.
Rachael Brown, Can Do Collective Convener and CEO, The Future Economy Company explains; “We’ve seen many examples of how the Scottish business community has stepped up to provide a flexible, fast and appropriate response to individuals in need this year.
“Business support communities have removed subscriptions and paywalls, more events and conferences have moved online and there has been a marked increase in the frequency of events.
“In times like these, community and peer to peer support is so vital. Now more than ever, there’s an opportunity for businesses to really show their human side, to come together in trust and credibility. We’ve been truly encouraged by the sense of community spirit, entrepreneurialism, agility and creativity we’ve witnessed and the willing to work collaboratively for the greater good.”
A number of businesses have shown great strength, resilience, agility and entrepreneurial spirit in the face of Covid-19 and have continued to support their respective business communities in challenging times.
One of the virtual events that the Can Do Collective has initiated as part of their new virtual events programme, is the Partner Spotlight webinar series, which has seen business leaders from around Scotland share their leadership journey and advice for drawing on community, creativity and resilience.
Here, some of them share their journey through 2020 : –
Social Investment Scotland:
One of those leaders is Alastair Davis, Chief Executive of Social Investment Scotland (SIS) – the leading social enterprise whose aim is to help social enterprises to scale and grow their business.
He explains: “The global pandemic has undoubtedly changed the way we all work. Back in March, there was a realisation that Covid-19 was going to have a significant impact. So as a team, we quickly started to think about ways to support our community. We wanted to go out to them and say, ‘we’re here to support you’.
“Organisations really appreciated that proactive, calm approach. We were there from the start offering help, support and advice. I’m really proud of that, and indeed the ways it has continued throughout the rest of this year.
“This year’s events have also shown us the energy that can be created when you work quickly, collaboratively, and responsively. It has actually driven us to accelerate many of our plans and strategies, and we have been able to design, develop and launch things really quickly. That’s certainly something I’d like to hold onto as we look post pandemic.
“It’s also taught us the value of investing in relationships and collaborations. It’s so important to build communities like that created by the Can Do Collective that are supportive, curious and helpful. Now more than ever, trust, credibility and collaboration are vital and will allow us to bounce back post pandemic, in whatever way that means for different businesses.”
Interface:
Interface is an organisation that connects businesses with academics.
Dr Siobhán Jordan, Director, of Interface, explains the ways they have adapted to support their community through the global pandemic: “A huge part of our work is about keeping in touch with businesses to understand the difference we are making, and the ways in which we can continue to support them further.
“That put us in a strong position to be able to proactively support our community. We were immediately helping to address challenges faced by the businesses we work with. Many of them had to look at adapting their existing products, and many had to look at creating new products.
“Proactive but empathetic has been our approach in helping businesses navigate through the pandemic, and also look ahead to recovery and green shoots.
“We’ve also been hugely excited about some of the new things we’ve been able to do. For example, we’ve developed a campaign around ‘Adopt a business’. We asked our academic community about ways they could help the tourism and hospitality industry, practically, as they start to think about restarting and recovery.
“We were overwhelmed by the interest from universities to offer practical help. Working with VisitScotland and Scottish Tourism Alliance , we then had over 80 businesses keen to work with academia. It’s a programme we’ve been able to launch and establish really rapidly but has also been brand new for us.
“We know the next few months are not going to be easy, but collectively, we in Scotland have an opportunity to come together to bring energy to the economic recovery and ensure we continue to build networks to nurture and support. Support groups and organisations like the Can Do Collective are vital for us all to continue to seek knowledge, ask for help from others, and support one another.”
Scottish Edge:
A business that has been involved with the Can Do Collective since its inception, Evelyn McDonald, Chief Executive of Scottish Edge, The UK’s Biggest Business Funding Competition, discusses ways in which their business has had to shift and evolve:
“I’ll admit, I found the initial few weeks after lockdown began in March, extremely challenging.
“We had launched a competition at the end of January, and at the beginning, we kept going. But there came a point when I had to make the difficult decision that we couldn’t continue. Matched with the challenges all small businesses have had this year – having to put a couple of our team on furlough and having to cut costs and plan for the worst – it was pretty painful.
“But once we’d made the decision to pause the competition and focus on our 335 alumni of businesses, we knew immediately it was the right thing to do.
“We’re really lucky to work with people who have great ideas, right at the early stages of their business and we became very focussed on providing support to those business, with a specific focus for those who have loans with us.
“We’ve been supporting with information on grants and loans, events, training, as well as peer to peer mentoring. The great thing for us is the feedback we’ve had from our community. We will hopefully come out of this with a stronger, more connected group of businesses.
“We’ve now announced our next competition, which we’re all incredibly invigorated by – it’s lovely to be looking forward to the next round which we will be launching in July and we will be inviting those previous applicants back and also opening to new ones. The competition round subsequently attracted 327 applications, the largest number to date.
“What’s been truly valuable throughout is the support from the wider Can Do Collective network. We know there are a lot of willing hands and willing hearts out there to help us. A trusted network and group of people that are open to collaboration is what can help us all recover and look forward to 2021 with renewed energy.”
Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House, on Wednesday 4th November:
Thanks for joining us today again. Let me give you the daily updates on the COVID statistics.
The total number of positive cases reported yesterday was 1433.
That represents 7.9% of the total number of tests, and the total number of confirmed cases is therefore now to 68,444.
602 of today’s new cases were in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 318 in Lanarkshire, 163 in Lothian and 88 in Ayrshire and Arran.
The remaining 262 cases were spread across 8 other health board areas.
I can also confirm that 1257 people are currently in hospital – that is an increase of 3 from yesterday. And 94 people are in intensive care, which is 2 more than yesterday.
And finally, I deeply regret to say that 50 deaths have been registered in the past 24 hours of patients who first tested positive over the previous 28 days.
That means that the total number of deaths, under our daily measurement, is now 2,927.
National Records of Scotland has also just published its weekly update, that of course includes cases where COVID is a suspected or contributory cause of death.
Today’s update shows that by Sunday just past, the total number of registered deaths linked to COVID, either confirmed or presumed was 4,649.
167 of those deaths were registered last week, which is 61 more than in the week previous.
Of last week’s deaths 127 occurred in hospital, 31 were in care homes, and 9 were at home or in another non-institutional setting.
Now I report all of that as statistics but particularly when we have numbers such as those that I reported today, it’s always really important to remind ourselves that these deaths are not, and should never simply be, seen as statistics.
Every single one of them represents an individual who was cherished and loved and whose loss has been mourned by family and friends across the country.
So again, I want to send my deepest condolences to all those who have been bereaved as a result of this virus.
I am joined today by Jason Leitch, the National Clinical Director. I am also joined by Martin Blunden, Scotland’s Chief Fire Officer, who will say a few words about fire safety – as we look ahead to what of course will be a very different 5th of November from the ones we have been used to.
The Scottish Parliament yesterday discussed longer term measures to prevent the misuse of fireworks. But there is also an immediate need to ensure that this year’s bonfire night passes safely, and the Chief Fire Officer will talk more about that shortly.
Before then, I want to cover two points and I will do so reasonably briefly.
Firstly, a quick return to the situation in relation to furlough payments. As you know, the Scottish Government welcomes the fact that the current furlough scheme has been extended until the 2nd December.
That will help employees and businesses across Scotland and the UK who need to use it over that period.
However we continue to make the case – as do our counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland – that the same level of furlough support must also be available after November. The same level of help for the self-employed should also be made available.
We cannot have a situation where businesses are fully supported, rightly fully supported, when England enters a lockdown, but comparable support isn’t made available, if all or part of Scotland, or Wales or Northern Ireland face similar restrictions.
So I very much welcome the apparent commitment of the Prime Minister to equal treatment, that he gave in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.
As a result of that commitment, we hope and expect that the furlough scheme will be available at its current levels, those levels that will apply through November if we need to impose stronger restrictions in any part of the country in the future.
But we still have not seen any detailed written commitments on this from the Treasury. And we need to do that, as a matter of urgency. The current confusion and lack of clarity is, and I think this is an obvious point, is not helpful for our decision-making, but it is not helpful for businesses and employees who of course are anxious about jobs and wages at this time.
So I hope, although I’m mindful that I said the same thing at this point yesterday, that we will get that clarity over the course of today. (NOTE: UK Chancellor is finally expected to confirm this in a statement today – Ed.)
The second point I want to highlight also relates to support for businesses.
Back in July, we announced a £38 million package of support for new companies, in emerging sectors of the economy as well as supporting existing businesses through this crisis, we want to support the sustainable recovery of the economy in ways that help us meet our challenges of the future, not least climate change.
That support included a £25 million fund for recent start-ups, that’s being shared today between 90 businesses. They will receive a combination of grant and investment funding worth up to £300k.
These companies operate are operating in areas which are likely to grow in importance in the years to come – such as software development, space engineering and sustainable packaging.
And so we hope that this support will help them to innovate and grow, despite the crisis currently being caused by COVID.
Today’s funding also shows the mix of measures we are looking at as we try to support economic growth, both throughout and in the future, as we emerge from this crisis.
It is vital for businesses across the country that we work with the UK Government, and agree the details of furlough support.
The Scottish Government is also responsible for deciding funding for some major economic interventions – whether that is business rates relief, and the support grants available for companies which are hit by COVID restrictions.
But alongside that help, we are also responsible for more targeted measures. So today’s support is an example of that and we hope it will help a relatively small number of companies, but companies that have significance for the future, innovate, build and grow.
These are the two main points I wanted to cover today. However before I hand over to the Chief Fire Officer, I just want to emphasise again the current rules and guidance.
If we all put our own twist on the rules they won’t work. Stopping the spread starts with all of us.
And I want to repeat that although we continue to see some positive signs in our data just now, and that’s all down to the sacrifices that people across the country are making. We are still dealing with a very fragile and volatile situation and therefore it is the case that we have a lot of work to do.
As I set out yesterday, given the nature of what we are dealing with right now, it’s not enough and we cannot take sufficient comfort from a situation where we stop the spread of the virus deteriorating. We also need to be seeing a significant and sustained improvement.
Otherwise the risk we would bear is going deeper into winter with a high baseline of infection – that would mean any increase in the R number could quickly see the virus overwhelm us and overwhelm our hospitals.
So we will be monitoring the situation closely ahead of the first review of our new levels system next Tuesday.
In the meantime though, I ask everyone to remember that we all have a part to play in this. The more all of us abide by the rules, the more chance we have of making the progress we need to see.
And it’s another opportunity to remind everybody that though this virus makes us all feel a little bit powerless and at times bewildered, no of us are powerless in the face of this if we all stick to the rules, we make an individual and a collective impact on the spread of it.
So let me just briefly in conclusion remind you of what these rules are.
If you are living in one of the areas categorised as level three at the moment – most parts of the central belt, and now also Dundee – do not travel outside your own local authority area unless it is essential. You can find more detail of what we mean by ‘essential’ on the Scottish Government website. But it includes, for example, work that you cannot do at home, or caring responsibilities.
And people in other parts of Scotland should not travel into level three areas except for the same essential purposes.
We are also asking you now not to travel outside of Scotland – to other parts of the UK, or overseas – again unless there is an essential reason for you to do so.
This is, I know, very restrictive but it is essential to avoid us taking the virus from areas of high prevalence to areas of low prevalence and that point is important to stress.
In addition to the travel restrictions across the country right now, none of us should be visiting each other’s homes – again except for specific purposes, such as childcare, or looking after a frail or vulnerable person.
When we do meet people from other households, outdoors or indoor public places, please stick to the limits. No more than six people from no more than two households.
Avoid car-sharing if you can.
Work from home if you can.
Download the Protect Scotland app.
And remember the five rules that everybody needs to abide by to minimise the risk of transmission:
· wear face coverings when you’re out and about · avoid places with crowds of people · clean your hands regularly and clean surfaces regularly · keep two metres distance from people from other households · and self-isolate, and get tested, if you have any of the symptoms of COVID.
I set this out in some detail yesterday, and you hear me say in regularly over the course of the days to come, we have taken early action in Scotland.
Your sacrifices are adding to that, to put us in, not a strong position because no country in the face of a global pandemic can claim its position is strong, but put us in a position that is less severe than many other countries across the world.
But it is a fragile position and we must continue to see progress, that obviously will guide decisions government takes but right now, that need to continue to suppress the virus if we are to avoid tougher restrictions that last for longer, is something all of us need to remember in complying with all of this advice and with all of the rules.
So my thanks again to everybody for joining us today and for all the sacrifices that you continue to make.
Edinburgh Napier’s ground-breaking Get on Board programme has been honoured with a prestigious Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE).
The programme – which places students with the boards of charities, voluntary organisations and public bodies, and gives them opportunities to network with professionals and help make decisions which impact their community – is one of 15 winning projects from universities across the UK.
The CATE awards, announced yesterday by Advance HE, the body dedicated to helping higher education shape its future, recognise collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning, highlighting the key role of teamwork.
Get on Board was established in 2015, with academics Miles Weaver and Jacqueline Brodie working with the University’s careers service to deliver an extra-curriculum programme to support employability of students and address the key Scottish national outcome of improving board diversity. The pilot project won a Herald HE Award for Enhancing Student Learning.
The programme’s development was supported by a student steering group called Young Trustees in Scotland led by Elena Pershina, who was a fourth year undergraduate at the time and President of Young Trustees in Scotland.
The Get on Board team later joined forces with RSM and Santander, and further organisations and universities became involved as the competency pathway was developed as an opportunity to bolster trustee skills among students in Scotland, each partner bringing their own capabilities, training and networking opportunities.
Dr Brodie, Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Edinburgh Napier’s Business School, said: “The Get on Board team are honoured to be awarded an Advance HE CATE. It has been a privilege to empower students to make a positive difference in their communities and support the development of their employability and enterprise skills in the process.”
Alison Johns, Advance HE CEO, said: “I am sure I am joined by the entire sector in congratulating the 2020 CATE awardees. All of the winners should be extremely proud of their achievement.
“Their work epitomises the outstanding commitment to teaching in the UK higher education sector, which this year has been more demanding than ever before.”
The Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence scheme was introduced in 2016, and is open to members of staff from all providers of higher education across the UK.
New data published by HM Treasury reveals how businesses across every corner of the UK continue to be supported through government-backed coronavirus loan schemes.
new figures show government economic support is reaching every corner of the UK
businesses across the entire UK have received government-backed loans during outbreak – with more than 130,000 firms in devolved nations receiving £4.7 billion
data also shows that nearly 900,000 firms in England have benefitted from over £10 billion in business grants
Figures released by the Treasury show that more than 130,000 firms in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have benefitted from £4.7 billion of coronavirus support through the government’s Bounce Back Loan and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
This includes:
loans and support worth more than £2.3 billion have been given to more than 65,000 firms in Scotland since the outbreak
around 41,000 businesses in Wales have received more than £1.4 billion in finance
and more than 25,000 businesses in Northern Ireland have received over £1 billion
The figures also show that businesses up and down England have also benefitted from more than £10 billion in business grants, with equivalent funding being made available to the nations through the Barnett formula.
more than 102,000 business properties in Yorkshire and the Humber received £1.1 billion in grants since the pandemic
alongside 119,000 grants made in the South West, to the value of £1.3 billion
and 131,000 business properties in the North West receiving over £1.5 billion in support
Loan schemes, grants and business rates holidays have supported businesses across all sectors. But the retail, construction and hospitality sectors, including hotels and restaurants, have benefitted the most.
17% of loans went to the construction sector, and all retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses benefitted from a 100% business rates holiday – demonstrating how government support helped those businesses that were impacted hardest by the pandemic.
Ahead of a visit to Scotland to see the impact of the government support schemes and meet people who have benefitted, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said: “I recently set out the government’s next steps towards economic recovery and securing the UK’s long-term prosperity in our Plan for Jobs.
“As we embark on this next phase, the latest figures demonstrate that we are continuing to support jobs, incomes, and businesses across every corner of the UK.”
As well as loan schemes, grants and businesses rates holiday, around a third of employees in every region benefitted from the furlough scheme, in addition to support through the self-employed income support scheme, as the government moved quickly to support businesses across the whole country to protect jobs.
This is part of a package of over £50 billion in loans, £11 billion in grants, and 9.5 million people furloughed.
The Chancellor set out his Plan for Jobs last month, which will support jobs with the Job Retention Bonus to help businesses keep furloughed workers, and expand Worksearch Support including a Flexible Support Fund and a £2 billion Kickstart scheme to subsidise jobs for young people
The UK government is also creating jobs in the construction and housing sectors through funding to decarbonise public sector buildings, and protecting jobs with VAT cuts for hospitality and tourism, as well as the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme. These schemes are union-wide, and support key industries across the whole of the UK.
This comes in addition to the government’s recent announcement that the devolved administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will receive a minimum of £3.6 billion in additional funding this year, on top of the £8.9billion confirmed since March to support the coronavirus recovery.
Stephen Pegge, Managing Director of Commercial Finance at UK Finance, said: “Lenders understand that times are tough for businesses up and down the country, but the industry has a clear plan to help them get through this crisis.
“Whether you’re a sole trader in a rural area or a company with hundreds of employees in a major city, the banking and finance industry stands ready to offer the right support to suit your needs and these figures demonstrate that funding is well distributed throughout the UK.
“Businesses should remember that any lending provided under government-backed schemes is a loan not a grant, and so should carefully consider their ability to repay before applying.”
Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “Our unprecedented package of support has helped firms of all sizes, in all sectors, and in every corner of our United Kingdom.
“Today’s data shows just how big an impact our measures have had, providing breathing space for millions of businesses, safeguarding jobs and protecting people’s incomes.
“As we bounce back from the pandemic, we will continue to prioritise jobs and skills, while placing the environment at the heart of our recovery.”
Darren Jones, Chair of Westminster’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee, has written to Secretary of State Alok Sharma outlining a number of key issues for the UK Government to address in its approach to support for business and workers as the country emerges from the Covid-19 lockdown.
The correspondence to the Secretary of State recognises the efforts of many workers and businesses who rose to the challenges brought about during the pandemic.
The letter also highlights a number of issues, including gaps in support for workers, the tapering of support for workers through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), and the treatment of workers during the pandemic and health & safety issues.
The letter tackles a number of areas concerning the Government’s support for businesses, recommending the Government review the success of the various loan schemes and the behavior of banks, and also highlighting problems arising from unpaid business rent and the calls for targeted support for sectors that are likely to continue to be hit by restrictions which threaten their future revenue and viability.
Darren Jones, Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee said: “The Business Department and the Treasury deserve significant credit for their efforts in addressing the unprecedented challenges faced by business and workers following the impact of Covid-19.
“Given the evolving situation around Covid-19, it’s inevitable that issues would emerge concerning the effectiveness of the Government’s support package and its impact on workers and businesses.
“However, it is also the case that the alarm over gaps in the Government’s support, such as for women, and those affecting freelancers and agency workers, were being raised repeatedly by those affected and yet these warnings continued to go unheeded.
“Rishi Sunak echoed a previous Chancellor in suggesting that the coronavirus has seen us all in it together. However, it’s clear that the reality of the economic lockdown is that its impact has not been shared out evenly and that it is falling very heavily on some parts of our economy.
“For example, we heard from sectors, including retail, the creative industries and manufacturing, who expressed concern over increasing redundancies in the wake of the furlough scheme changes coming in this weekend.
“It’s clear that some sectors of our economy will continue to face very challenging conditions. The shutdown of the aviation and aerospace sector will, for example, have a longer-term impact on these industries compared to others. In some parts of hospitality and in other sectors too, difficult trading conditions and continuing restrictions threaten future revenue and their viability.
“It’s important the Government quickly learns the lessons of recent months so that they can act in future with more policy sophistication and transparency and be able to step up and deliver the most effective support possible to workers and businesses.
“If we face the prospect of a second-wave and the likelihood of increased local lock-downs, it’s essential the Government looks again at its approach to sector support and to the additional measures which will be necessary to secure our economic recovery, help businesses prosper and enable workers to protect their livelihoods”.
The letter to the Secretary of State notes the examples highlighted by Which? of price-gouging, profiteering, and the inability of consumers to obtain refunds which they were legally entitled to when their holidays and flights were cancelled.
The correspondence also notes the comments from Lord Tyrie, former Chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority, stating that the pandemic had revealed that the CMA needed new powers to deal with profiteering.
The Committee calls for the Government to undertake a review of the powers and responsibilities of the CMA, and other consumer regulation enforcers, to address bad business practices and the effective enforcement of consumer law and the action needed to tackle market abuses, such as profiteering, that took place during the pandemic.
The letter to the Secretary of State highlights issues around the impact of late payments and the problems that many small businesses were experiencing throughout the UK’s supply chains because of cash flow problems.
Following evidence from SMEs, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), and the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) on these issues, the Committee recommends the SBC be given additional powers to proactively investigate late payments, that the Prompt Payment Code be made compulsory, and that late payers should be excluded from government contracts.
Sue Davies, Head of Consumer Protection at Which?, said:“Our research has highlighted terrible practices during the coronavirus pandemic, including airlines that have refused to refund passengers and sellers that have unjustifiably bumped up prices on essential goods.
“In too many situations consumers have been left with nowhere to turn, which is why regulators need to be given stronger and more targeted powers so they can take effective enforcement to tackle the types of bad practice we’ve seen during the crisis.”
Bank of Scotland’s Business Barometer for July 2020 shows:
Overall confidence of firms in Scotland rose four points in the past month to -37%
Firms’ confidence in their own business prospects was unchanged month-on-month at -33%
One in ten (9%) businesses experienced an increase in demand, up four points on June
Business confidence in Scotland rose four points during July to -37%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking.
Companies in Scotland reported the same level in confidence in their business prospects month-on-month at -33%. When taken alongside their views of the economy overall, this gives a headline confidence reading of -37%.
The Business Barometer questions 1,200 businesses monthly and provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.
The majority of firms continued to see demand negatively affected by coronavirus during July. Almost two thirds (64%) experienced a fall in demand for their products and services, up six points on the month before. However, 9% experienced an increase in demand, up four points on June.
With the Job Retention Scheme beginning to wind down from August, two fifths (41%) of Scottish firms surveyed said they didn’t currently have any furloughed workers.
Of the 55% of businesses reporting disruption to their supply chain during July, 18% expected the situation to improve within three months, while only 2% expected it would take more than 12 months to return to normal levels. Fraser Sime, regional director for Scotland at Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking, said: “While marginal, the slight increase in confidence we’ve seen this month is a step in the right direction.
“There’s still a long way to go for confidence to fully recover, but the current transition to Phase 3 of lockdown should hopefully continue to boost many firms’ trading prospects.
“Pessimism is waning in many English regions as the hospitality and leisure sectors open their doors once again. With many firms beginning to restart operations here in Scotland this month, August will be telling as to whether the same confidence-inducing effect will take hold here too.”
In July, the retail sector increased 11 points to -12%, manufacturing increased 14 points to -21% and services rose 10 points to -26%. However, construction fell eight points to -22% after last month’s strong increase of 30 percentage points.
Paul Gordon, Managing Director for SME and Mid Corporates, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said:“With only one region reporting a fall in sentiment, we are starting to see sentiment lift for the vast majority of regions across the UK.
“The easing of lockdown restrictions, including the reopening of the economy and the relaxation of social distancing rules, has resulted in most businesses reporting improvements in demand, from a record-low base. This is key for the summer season, which will allow businesses to continue to open their doors and trade in the weeks and months ahead.”
Hann-Ju Ho, Senior Economist, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “While the results suggest the economy is starting to see some improvement, economic confidence still remains in deep negative territory.
“The Government announcement of the slight easing of social distancing measures has now enabled over half of businesses to reach their capacity and resume their usual activities. However, how businesses will continue to respond to the Job Retention Scheme will be key in the coming months.”
With a wave of non-food retailers going into administration and announcing significant job losses the government needs to act quickly and strategically to shore up the long-term prospects of the sector, say leading tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.
Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop has welcomed the recommendations of the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery.
The group, led by Benny Higgins, was tasked with recommending solutions to ensure transition towards a greener, net-zero and wellbeing economy, and to advise on measures to address different challenges the economy will face as Scotland recovers from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The group’s 25 recommendations, which will now be considered in detail by the Scottish Government and its partners, include:
an urgent need to access low cost debt requires an accelerated review of the Fiscal Framework, and a significant increase in access to capital investment to support an investment-led recovery
a Scottish jobs guarantee, in partnership between business and government, should be introduced to address unemployment, with refocused skills strategies and decisive steps to align teaching and learning in universities and colleges to the needs of business
prioritisation of sector plans to deliver a green recovery, where the coincidence of emissions reductions, the development of natural capital and job creation are the strongest
critical investment in the country’s digital infrastructure to improve connectivity, reduce inequalities and build the country’s resilience
urgent action to develop a stronger relationship between business and government on the strategy for Scotland’s economic recovery
Ms Hyslop said: “I would like to thank Benny Higgins, the independent Advisory Group members and all who contributed to their work in setting out a route to recovery for Scotland to address the economic impacts of COVID-19.
“Scotland, as with other countries, faces enormous challenges, and we need to all work together as never before to ensure our country emerges through this pandemic with a green economic recovery that has inclusion and wellbeing at its heart.
“We wanted the report to be ambitious and far-reaching, and with this strong and comprehensive set of recommendations this has certainly been achieved.
“The report identifies the importance of employment, the environment, education and equality. I agree that each one of these will be vital as we seek to create a society that is resilient, fair, and one in which everyone has the opportunity to be successful. We will now develop a detailed response to the report which will be published before the end of July.
“This report represents a clear call to action that goes beyond the Scottish Government and the public sector. We will only be able to build the kind of post-COVID-19 recovery we want with the active involvement of the private, cultural and third sectors and, importantly, the public.
“It is therefore vital that everyone continues to work together in the crucial weeks and months to come to deliver the action Scotland needs to recover from the impact of COVID-19.”
Benny Higgins, Chair of the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery, said: “Scotland faces an economic challenge of monumental scale. If we do not intervene radically to transform our economy, inequalities will drastically widen with long-term scarring for communities across the country, and for our young people in particular. This cannot be allowed to happen.
“The Advisory Group on Economic Recovery has worked at great speed over the past two months, engaging extensively with businesses and with wider civic society to understand the challenges that we face, but crucially to curate a set of recommendations that emphasise the immediate need to protect and create jobs, reduce inequalities by building a green and technology-led recovery, and make Scotland an attractive place to do business.
“To create a robust, resilient wellbeing economy, the public and private sector must now build a new partnership to prioritise and deliver bold action. And they must do so with purpose and urgency.”
Lord Robert Smith of Kelvin, who led the business engagement for the group, said: “It is evident that Scotland faces a lengthy road back to economic recovery and renewal. To succeed this must be led and delivered by the business community with the active support of government.
“I have engaged broadly with the business community over the last two months and there is consistent feedback. Across almost every sector, businesses are exposed to a collapse in demand and profitability, and with the threat of very significant job losses, generations are exposed to chronic economic harm.
“We need to restart the economy, get people back to work across the country, and invest in jobs and businesses that can succeed sustainably. A large part of that will mean securing a significantly enhanced relationship between government and business to ensure that policy and interventions can be delivered practically and with purpose.
“I therefore welcome the speed and conclusions of Benny’s Advisory Group – it has ambition and sets out a clear path for what is needed next for our economy to recover and renew as the restrictions of activity are lifted.”
