Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000, the Chancellor has announced.
Chancellor announces one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring
£594 million discretionary fund also made available to support other impacted businesses
comes in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities, Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month and extension of furlough scheme
This follows the Prime Minister’s announcement last night that these business will be closed until at least February half-term in order to help control the virus, and, together with the wide range of existing support, provides them with certainty through the Spring period.
The cash is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “The new strain of the virus presents us all with a huge challenge – and whilst the vaccine is being rolled out, we have needed to tighten restrictions further.
“Throughout the pandemic we’ve taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods and today we’re announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the Spring.
“This will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen.”
A further £594 million is also being made available for Local Authorities and the Devolved Administrations to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, that might be affected by the restrictions. Businesses should apply to their Local Authorities.
The new one-off grants come in addition to billions of existing business support, including grants worth up to £3,000 for closed businesses, and up to £2,100 per month for impacted businesses once they reopen.
The government has also provided 100% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, £1.1 billion existing discretionary funding for Local Authorities, the furlough scheme now extended to April and 100% government backed loans, extended until March.
Further information
the one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows:
£4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
£6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
£9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000
business support is a devolved policy and therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations, which will receive additional funding as a result of these announcements in the usual manner:
the Scottish Government will receive £375 million
the Welsh Government will receive £227 million
the Northern Ireland Executive will receive £127 million
this will contribute to the funding which has already been guaranteed by the UK Government, to continue to provide the devolved administrations the certainty they need to plan for their COVID-19 response in the months ahead
small businesses in the devolved administrations should also be able to benefit from other UK-wide measures in the government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including the various business lending schemes (where the repayment terms were made easier as part of the Winter Economy Plan), and the extension of the Self Employment Income Support Scheme
The Prime Minister has announced a national lockdown and instructed people to stay at home to control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives.
The decision follows a rapid rise in infections, hospital admissions and case rates across the country, and hospitals are now under more pressure than they have been at any other point throughout the pandemic.
This drastic jump in cases has been attributed to the new variant of COVID-19, which our scientists have now confirmed is between 50 and 70 per cent more transmissible.
On 4 January, there were 26,626 Covid patients in hospital in England, an increase of over 30% in one week, and the April 2020 hospital admissions peak has now been surpassed by 40%.
The case rate in England up to 29 December was 478.5 per 100k, three times higher than on 1 December when the case rate was 151.3.
On 3 Jan, 454 deaths were reported, with 4,228 over the last 7 days – a 24% increase on the previous 7 days.
Yesterday afternoon, the four UK Chief Medical Officers advised that the COVID threat level should move from level four to level five, indicating that if action is not taken NHS capacity may be overwhelmed within 21 days.
The Prime Minister praised everyone’s collective efforts to get this virus under control, emphasising the great national effort to fight Covid. Despite this, the pressure on our NHS, rapidly rising infection rates and hospital admissions due to the new variant mean that another national lockdown is sadly necessary.
From today (Tuesday), people in England will only be allowed to leave their homes for the following reasons:
shop for basic necessities, for you or a vulnerable person.
go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home.
exercise with your household (or support bubble) or one other person, this should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.
meet your support bubble or childcare bubble where necessary, but only if you are legally permitted to form one.
seek medical assistance or avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse).
attend education or childcare – for those eligible.
From today, all primary schools, secondary schools and colleges will move to remote learning, except for the children of key workers and vulnerable children.
While children are still very unlikely to be severely affected by COVID-19, the government recognises that schools must be included in the restrictions in order to have the best chance of getting the virus under control as schools can act as vectors of transmission, causing the virus to spread between households when rates are high.
Schools will be required to provide remote education for those learning at home.
Early years settings such as nurseries, alternative provision and special schools will remain open and vulnerable children and children of critical workers can continue to use registered childcare, childminders and other childcare activities.
The UK government is also advising the clinically extremely vulnerable to begin shielding again, and letters will be sent to individuals with advice on what this means for them.
All non-essential retail, hospitality and personal care services must close, or remain closed. Restaurants can continue delivery, takeaway or click-and-collect of food and non-alcoholic drinks, but venues will no longer be able to serve takeaway or click-and-collect alcohol.
Essential shops and garden centres can remain open. Entertainment venues and animal attractions such as zoos must close, but the outdoor areas of venues such as heritage homes and botanical gardens can remain open, to be used for exercise. Playgrounds may also remain open.
Places of worship can also remain open, but you may only visit with your household.
Indoor and outdoor sports facilities including sports courts, gyms, golf courses, swimming pools, and riding arenas must also close. Elite sport and disabled sport can continue, as can PE lessons for those children attending school.
The restrictions will come into effect tomorrow (Tuesday 5 January), and are expected to last until the middle of February if the situation in hospitals improve. By this point, the NHS hopes to have vaccinated everyone in the top four priority groups identified by the JCVI – including older care home residents and staff, everyone over 70, all frontline NHS and care staff and all those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.
Vaccinating the most vulnerable will protect those at highest risk from COVID-19 and this will remove a significant amount of the pressure currently facing the NHS.
Based on the latest available data, the UK has vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined and we will continue to accelerate our vaccination programme at pace.
Everyone should follow the new rules from now, and they will become law in England from 00.01 on Wednesday. The Westminster Parliament will sit, largely remotely, on Wednesday to debate and vote on the measures.
The full details on what you can and cannot do in England are available here.
PRIME MINISTER’S ADDRESS TO THE NATION
Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation last night:
Since the pandemic began last year, the whole United Kingdom has been engaged in a great national effort to fight Covid.
And there is no doubt that in fighting the old variant of the virus, our collective efforts were working and would have continued to work.
But we now have a new variant of the virus. It has been both frustrating and alarming to see the speed with which the new variant is spreading.
Our scientists have confirmed this new variant is between 50 and 70 per cent more transmissible – that means you are much, much more likely to catch the virus and to pass it on.
As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from Covid than at any time since the start of the pandemic.
In England alone, the number of Covid patients in hospitals has increased by nearly a third in the last week, to almost 27,000.
That number is 40 per cent higher than the first peak in April.
On 29 December, more than 80,000 people tested positive for Covid across the UK – a new record.
The number of deaths is up by 20 per cent over the last week and will sadly rise further. My thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones.
With most of the country already under extreme measures, it is clear that we need to do more, together, to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are rolled out.
In England, we must therefore go into a national lockdown which is tough enough to contain this variant.
That means the Government is once again instructing you to stay at home.
You may only leave home for limited reasons permitted in law, such as to shop for essentials, to work if you absolutely cannot work from home, to exercise, to seek medical assistance such as getting a Covid test, or to escape domestic abuse.
The full details on what you can and can’t do will be available at gov.uk/coronavirus.
If you are clinically extremely vulnerable, we are advising you to begin shielding again and you will shortly receive a letter about what this means for you.
And because we now have to do everything we possibly can to stop the spread of the disease, primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across England must move to remote provision from tomorrow, except for vulnerable children and the children of key workers.
Everyone will still be able to access early years settings such as nurseries.
We recognise that this will mean it is not possible or fair for all exams to go ahead this summer as normal. The Education Secretary will work with Ofqual to put in place alternative arrangements.
We will provide extra support to ensure that pupils entitled to free school meals will continue to receive them while schools are closed, and we’ll distribute more devices to support remote education.
I completely understand the inconvenience and distress this late change will cause millions of parents and pupils up and down the country.
Parents whose children were in school today may reasonably ask why we did not take this decision sooner.
The answer is simply that we have been doing everything in our power to keep schools open, because we know how important each day in education is to children’s life chances.
And I want to stress that the problem is not that schools are unsafe for children – children are still very unlikely to be severely affected by even the new variant of Covid.
The problem is that schools may nonetheless act as vectors for transmission, causing the virus to spread between households.
Today the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officers have advised that the country should move to alert level 5, meaning that if action is not taken NHS capacity may be overwhelmed within 21 days.
Of course, there is one huge difference compared to last year.
We are now rolling out the biggest vaccination programme in our history.
So far, we in the UK have vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined.
With the arrival today of the UK’s own Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine, the pace of vaccination is accelerating.
I can share with you tonight the NHS’s realistic expectations for the vaccination programme in the coming weeks.
By the middle of February, if things go well and with a fair wind in our sails, we expect to have offered the first vaccine dose to everyone in the four top priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
That means vaccinating all residents in a care home for older adults and their carers, everyone over the age of 70, all frontline health and social care workers, and everyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable.
If we succeed in vaccinating all those groups, we will have removed huge numbers of people from the path of the virus.
And of course, that will eventually enable us to lift many of the restrictions we have endured for so long.
I must stress that even if we achieve this goal, there remains a time lag of two to three weeks from getting a jab to receiving immunity.
And there will be a further time lag before the pressure on the NHS is lifted.
So we should remain cautious about the timetable ahead.
But if our understanding of the virus doesn’t change dramatically once again…
If the rollout of the vaccine programme continues to be successful…
If deaths start to fall as the vaccine takes effect…
And, critically, if everyone plays their part by following the rules…
Then I hope we can steadily move out of lockdown, reopening schools after the February half term and starting, cautiously, to move regions down the tiers.
I want to say to everyone right across the United Kingdom that I know how tough this is, I know how frustrated you are, I know that you have had more than enough of government guidance about defeating this virus.
But now more than ever, we must pull together.
You should follow the new rules from now, and they will become law in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Parliament will meet – largely remotely – later that day.
I know that the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland share my conviction this is a pivotal moment and they’re taking similar steps.
The weeks ahead will be the hardest yet but I really do believe that we are entering the last phase of the struggle.
Because with every jab that goes into our arms, we are tilting the odds against Covid and in favour of the British people.
And, thanks to the miracle of science, not only is the end in sight and we know exactly how we will get there.
But for now, I am afraid, you must once again stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.
Over 5,000 Armed Forces personnel are currently deployed to support the response to the Coronavirus across the UK, working on 70 different tasks ranging from schools testing to the rollout of vaccines.
This is more than at any previous point in the pandemic and the biggest homeland operation the UK has ever seen in peacetime. Thousands more are supporting efforts through their day jobs in military planning, Defence Medical Services, Defence Science and Technology Laboratories and elsewhere.
More military personnel are being deployed to support community testing in:
Manchester – 800 personnel providing community testing support to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Kent – 390 personnel will support community testing
Swadlincote, Derbyshire – 130 personnel to establish and operate four lateral flow testing sites
Kirklees, Yorkshire – 75 personnel to establish and operate four lateral flow testing sites
Lancashire – 420 personnel to support asymptomatic testing
Another large scale task starts in Manchester today, with 800 personnel deploying from nine regiments across the British Army at the request of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), through the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
These personnel will prepare to work across all ten local authority areas of Greater Manchester to carry out targeted asymptomatic testing of specific populations that may be at a higher risk of infection including social care staff, key workers, public facing occupations such as bus drivers, and those in high risk environments such care homes and shared accommodation for the homeless.
The task builds on lessons from previous asymptomatic community testing in Liverpool, Lancashire, Merthyr Tydfil, Medway, and Kirklees.
In addition to community testing, military personnel remain on-task testing hauliers in Dover and helping to establish ten new testing sites to improve the flow of traffic across the Channel. As of today, 515 personnel are on task in Kent and elsewhere providing testing to hauliers.
1,500 Armed Forces personnel have also been provided to support schools testing, with local response teams providing virtual support and phone advice to institutions. Personnel also on standby to deploy at short notice to provide in-person support. Testing will continue as planned with two rapid Lateral Flow Tests available to all secondary school and college students and staff at the start of term to identify asymptomatic cases, break chains of transmission and beat the virus.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “The new year will see new levels of Armed Forces support to overcoming this pandemic. Thousands of service personnel are working throughout the United Kingdom, wherever they are needed to assist the civil authorities.
“Manchester is the latest of those tasks and will be an important contribution to protecting the highest risk groups as the city seeks to recover. As a North West MP I am acutely aware of the considerable time many of us have been labouring under some form of lockdown and I hope our soldiers will help us get to the day when these restrictions will start to lift.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We are enormously grateful to the Armed Forces for lending their support to these important community testing programmes. Around one in three people with coronavirus showing no symptoms, asymptomatic testing is crucial to identifying those who might be unknowingly infected, and protecting our most vulnerable.
“These community testing schemes are part of a national testing programme with millions of lateral flow tests arriving in schools tomorrow, for the testing of students and staff, to add to the hundreds of thousands of asymptomatic tests currently being conducted in care homes, across the NHS and in critical infrastructure workplaces and food manufacturers.
“While the Army, alongside thousands of medical professionals and volunteers, help roll out the vaccination programme, we must remember that the first line of defence against the virus remains to wash our hands, cover our faces and keep space.”
Lt Gen Sir Tyrone Urch KBE, Commander Standing Joint Commander UK said: “I am incredibly proud of all the servicemen and women who have worked tirelessly for most of this year on Operation RESCRIPT, the military effort in support of the government’s campaign to tackle COVID-19.
“In recent weeks, our amazing staff have deployed at short notice to set up and staff community testing centres across the country in support of the NHS, DHSC, Devolved Nations and local communities.
“They have conducted a successful testing pilot in schools and contributed to vaccine rollout planning. Both Regular and Reservist personnel stepped up on Christmas Eve to help clear the backlog of trucks in Kent, setting up testing facilities overnight when they would otherwise have been spending the festive period with their families.
“I am humbled by the sacrifice and dedication of all our people from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force as we continue to contribute to our nation’s fight against the coronavirus.”
The MoD has deployed 10 military planners to assist the Vaccine Task Force, with over 150 personnel deployed across the UK to support organisational and logistical components of the Deployment Programme.
Two separate military planners are seconded to support the Vaccine Task Force Director. Additionally, 20 personnel are assisting with regional vaccine planning, end-to-end logistics and delivery.
From 11th January a Vaccine Quick Reaction Force is being established, with their training for the role beginning today. This will initially be 21 teams of six personnel assigned to the seven NHS England regions, able to provide surge support to the vaccine roll-out if required by local health authorities.
In Scotland, military planners are supporting the testing and vaccine programmes.
Earlier during the pandemic Armed Forces personnel supported healthcare professionals to deliver testing at Glasgow Airport, and RAF Puma helicopters were deployed to Kinloss Barracks in Moray to provide emergency assistance to NHS boards and trusts across Scotland.
In Wales, 90 service personnel are deployed to support Health Boards in rapidly establishing and operating vaccination centres. For the first-time trained defence medics will also support the administering of the vaccine. Ninety-four military personnel, including medics and drivers, have embedded with the Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust to support them by driving Ambulances.
In Northern Ireland the Defence Estate is being loaned to the PSNI for their use and the Armed Forces have placed medevac capabilities on standby for Covid-19 patients when needed.
The first people will receive the Oxford University/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine today as the NHS expands COVID-19 vaccination programmes across the UK.
The NHS is the first health service in the world to deploy the life-saving jab, which has been authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after meeting strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. It is the only approved vaccine which can be stored at fridge temperatures.
The Government has secured access to 100 million doses of the vaccine on behalf of the whole of the UK, crown dependencies and Overseas Territories.
More than half a million doses are available today, with tens of millions more to be delivered in the coming weeks and months once batches have been quality checked by the MHRA. More than 730 vaccination sites have already been established across the UK and hundreds more are opening this week to take the total to over 1,000, helping those who are most at risk from Covid-19 to access vaccines for free, regardless of where they live.
UKHealth Secretary Matt Hancock said: “I am delighted that today we are rolling out the Oxford vaccine – a testament to British science. This is a pivotal moment in our fight against this awful virus and I hope it provides renewed hope to everybody that the end of this pandemic is in sight.
“Through its vaccine delivery plan the NHS is doing everything it can to vaccinate those most at risk as quickly as possible and we will rapidly accelerate our vaccination programme.
“While the most vulnerable are immunised, I urge everybody to continue following the restrictions so we can keep cases down and protect our loved ones.”
The first Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccinations will be delivered at hospitals for the first few days, as is standard practice, before the bulk of supplies are sent to hundreds of GP-led services and care homes later in the week.
More than a million people in the UK have already been vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and its roll out will continue at pace.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored at fridge temperatures, between two to eight degrees, making it easier to distribute to care homes and other locations across the UK. The vaccines will be deployed through:
hospital hubs for NHS and care staff and older patients to get vaccinated
local community services with local teams and GPs already signing up to take part in the programme
vaccination centres across the country, ensuring people can access a vaccine regardless of where they live
An army of current and former NHS staff have applied to become vaccinators, with tens of thousands having already completed their online training. These are being processed as quickly as possible and volunteer vaccinators will be deployed as more vaccine supplies become available. GPs and local vaccination services have been asked to ensure every care home resident in their local area is vaccinated by the end of January.
The MHRA, Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the four UK Chief Medical Officers agreed to delay the gap between the first and second dose of vaccines to protect the greatest number of people in the shortest amount of time.
In line with the recommendations of the JCVI, the vaccine will be rolled out to the priority groups including care home residents and staff, people over 80 and health and care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.
82 year old dialysis patient Brian Pinker received the first vaccination at Oxford’s Churchill Hospital at 7:30 this morning. The foundation hospital is barely a mile from the research labs where the breakthrough vaccine was discovered and developed last year.
There are more than 730 vaccination sites across the UK – and all will be rolling out the new vaccine over the coming days.
Patients in Tayside have been among the first in Scotland to receive the Oxford/Astrazeneca coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.
The vaccine was approved for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 30 December and is being made available to distribution centres through the country.
NHS Tayside is rolling out the vaccines through GP practices in the community, while continuing to vaccinate elderly residents and staff in care homes.
The Astrazeneca vaccine was procured on behalf of the four nations by the UK Government, who have ordered 100 million doses, of which Scotland will get 8.2% based on its population.
As with the Pfizer vaccine, this second vaccine provides an important additional layer of protection to all adults but particularly those most at risk from serious illness and death from COVID-19. With age as the greatest risk factor, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) have retained the same phase 1 priority list for both vaccines.
The priority now is to vaccinate as many people with their first dose as quickly as possible, working through that priority list and the advice that the second dose for both vaccines can be given up to 12 weeks after the first means we can maximise this protection quicker than planned. The second dose remains critical for longer term protection and to complete the course.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “Seeing the Astrazeneca vaccine being administered to people in the community aged over 80 is a good way to start the New Year and I’m grateful to everyone in NHS Tayside and boards across the country for their work in preparing for the delivery of this newest vaccine.
“Oxford AstraZeneca has the advantage of being much easier to store and transport, which means it is easier to administer in local settings. We are also expecting to receive it in significantly larger quantities than the Pfizer vaccine.
“When it is your turn to be vaccinated you will be contacted by your local health board and I urge you to please take up the offer.
“While vaccination is one of the most important tools we have as we work our way out of this pandemic, we must all continue our work to suppress the virus in Scotland. This means rigorously complying with the restrictions where we live and making sure we continue to wear face coverings, maintain 2m distance from others outside our own household and wash our hands regularly.
“These three strands – following all we need to do to suppress the virus, using our expanded testing programme to identify cases and break chains of transmission and rolling out vaccination as fast as supplies allow – are the three critical actions that will see us move, step by step, to a brighter year ahead.”
Associate Director of Public Health Dr Daniel Chandler, Immunisations Co-ordinator, who is overseeing the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Tayside said:“The efforts of our vaccination teams have been amazing and it is testament to a real whole team approach that sees the first over-80s in the general population have their jabs today in Tayside.
“The availability and mobility of the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine gives us the opportunity to start to roll out the biggest vaccine programme that the UK has ever seen across our communities. Over-80s are the first priority group and patients will be contacted directly to attend a vaccination session.
“Today’s commencement of the community roll-out marks an important next phase in our response to COVID-19. It will act to suppress the virus in our communities to protect those who are most vulnerable, but the plea from all of us in the NHS is keep sticking with all the guidance.”
James Shaw (82), who was one of the first to be vaccinated alongside his wife Malita, also 82, said: “My wife and I are delighted to be receiving this vaccination. I have asthma and bronchitis and I have been desperate to have it so I am really pleased to be one of the first to be getting it.
“I know it takes a little while for the vaccine to work but after today I know that I will feel a bit less worried about going out. I will still be very careful and avoid busy places but knowing I have been vaccinated will really help me.
“All of my friends have said they are going to have the vaccine when it is their turn and I would encourage everyone who is offered this vaccination to take it.”
Six projects across the UK will today receive a share of £8 million in government funding as part of a drive to create the world’s first net-zero emissions industrial zone by 2040.
Projects in the West Midlands, Tees Valley, North West, Humber, Scotland and South Wales win share of £8 million government backing to develop ways to cut carbon emissions from major industrial areas
UK drive to lead global green industrial revolution will create 4 low-carbon industrial hubs by 2030 and at least one net zero emission cluster by 2040
new funding is latest phase of government’s £170 million Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge which has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs as UK builds back greener
Six projects across the UK will today receive a share of £8 million in government funding as part of a drive to create the world’s first net zero emissions industrial zone by 2040.
Projects in the West Midlands, Tees Valley, North West, Humber, Scotland and South Wales will see local authorities working with industry to develop plans to reduce carbon emissions, with one scheme alone – across the North West of England and North East Wales – aiming to create over 33,000 new jobs and more than £4 billion of investment as it bids to become the world’s first net zero industrial zone.
A net zero industrial zone will see all industries in a region collectively reducing their carbon dioxide emissions to as close to zero as possible using low-carbon energy sources and new technology like carbon capture.
All 6 areas receiving funding today have high concentrations of industrial activity and will get a share of up to £8 million towards the development of decarbonisation plans.
Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said: “The UK is leading the world’s green industrial revolution, with ambitious targets to decarbonise our economy and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
“As we continue to level up the UK economy and build back greener, we must ensure every sector is reducing carbon emissions to help us achieve our commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.
“This funding will help key industrial areas meet the challenge of contributing to our cleaner future while maintaining their productive and competitive strengths.”
Decarbonising UK industry is a key part of the government’s ambitious plan for the green industrial revolution, which is laid out in its Ten Point Plan and Energy White Paper and is set to create 220,000 jobs as we build back greener over the next decade.
The Industrial Clusters Mission aims to support the delivery of 4 low-carbon regional zones by 2030 and at least one net zero green hotspot by 2040, kickstarted by the government’s £170 million Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge.
The 6 winners will now produce detailed plans for reducing emissions across major areas of industrial activity, where related industries have congregated and can benefit from utilising shared clean energy infrastructure, such as carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) and low-carbon hydrogen production and distribution.
All the winners have produced initial plans for reducing emissions across major industrial clusters across the UK and, in subsequent years, will build on these preliminary successes by bringing together industry and public sector bodies in a comprehensive effort to devise a route to net zero emissions.
Bryony Livesey, UKRI Challenge Director, Industrial Decarbonisation, said: Today’s announcement shows that the industrial clusters campaign is proceeding at pace. This second phase of the competition asks companies and partners to plan for comprehensive changes to industries, products and supply lines.
“This is a crucial step in the government’s plans to develop cost-effective decarbonisation in industrial hubs that tackle the emissions challenge UK industry faces. The move to low carbon industry is a huge opportunity, with the chance for the UK to take the lead and seize a large share of a growing global market.”
Project title: Scotland’s Net Zero Roadmap (SNZR)
Region: Scotland Project Lead: Neccus
To achieve net zero by 2045 Scotland needs to decarbonise industry, transport, heat and power. Scotland’s Net Zero Roadmap project (SNZR) will provide the roadmap to enable large-scale industrial CO2 emissions reduction in a way that focuses on ensuring the continued, but evolving, contribution of high-value industry and employment in a future net zero economy.
Led by Neccus, an alliance of industries and experts, the SNZR will provide the roadmap that enables the deployment of options in a way that ensures competitive decarbonisation through continued and growing prosperity across the economy.
Scotland is in a strong position to lead this new large scale CO2 management industry. Offshore Scotland has some of Europe’s best-characterised and largest CO2 storage sites while CCS and hydrogen will create opportunities for jobs and economic activity and help transition staff employed in sectors such as oil and gas.
The impact of the UK Government’s ‘damging’ Brexit deal on the people and economy of Scotland has been revealed in Scottish Government analysis.
The analysis lays out the challenges presented in mitigating the wide ranging impact of the deal, and underlines why the Scottish Government believes the best future for Scotland is as an independent country within the EU.
The comparison between the benefits of being a full member of the European Union (EU) and the position after the end of the transition period shows no corner of Scotland’s life and work will be untouched.
The UK deal, which has been denied consent by the Scottish Parliament, means Scotland has been taken out of the Single Market and the Customs Union, hitting jobs and living standards hard.
This initial analysis lays out what Scotland has lost by leaving the EU with this deal – and what it would regain by re-joining – highlighting the impact on Scotland’s economy, trade in services, fisheries, participation in EU programmes, internal security, free movement of people and the environment.
It includes detail on various sectors, including food, for example, where the UK Government has not secured any legally binding protection within the EU of existing UK Geographical Indicators (GIs) – nor any preferential arrangements for the recognition in the EU of potential future UK GIs.
Constitution Secretary Michael Russell said: “This analysis is sobering reading for anyone with Scotland’s best interests at heart.
“Post-Brexit relationships with the EU could have taken many different forms and the damaging outcome with which we are now faced is the result of a political choice by the UK Government, and firmly against the wishes of Scotland.
“As a responsible government we are doing everything we can to mitigate against the consequences of the UK Government’s actions, but we cannot avert every negative outcome.
“We know that businesses are already struggling under the burden of COVID-19, and are now faced with the need to prepare for the economic shock of this hard Brexit.
“Our position is clearer than ever – Scotland now has the right to choose its own future, as an independent country and seek to regain the benefits of EU membership.
“This analysis demonstrates the substantial benefits that we would regain by becoming an independent member state in our own right.”
The year in which the Government was forced to tell people how to live their lives, how long to wash their hands, how many households could meet together.
And a year in which we lost too many loved ones before their time.
So I can imagine that there will be plenty of people who will be only too happy to say goodbye to the grimness of 2020.
But just before we do, I want to remind you that this was also the year when we rediscovered a spirit of togetherness, of community.
It was a year in which we banged saucepans to celebrate the courage and self-sacrifice of our NHS staff and care home workers
A year in which working people pulled the stops out to keep the country moving in the biggest crisis we have faced for generations – shopworkers, transport staff, pharmacists, emergency services, everyone, you name it.
We saw a renewed spirit of volunteering, as people delivered food to the elderly and vulnerable.
And time after time as it became necessary to fight new waves of the virus, we saw people unite in their determination, our determination, to protect the NHS and to save lives.
Putting their lives, your lives, on hold. Buying precious time for medicine to provide the answers, and it has.
In 2020 we have seen British scientists not only produce the world’s first effective treatment of the disease, but just in the last few days a beacon of hope has been lit in the laboratories of Oxford.
A new room temperature vaccine that can be produced cheaply and at scale, and that offers literally a new lease of life to people in this country and around the world.
And with every jab that goes into the arm of every elderly or vulnerable person, we are changing the odds, in favour of humanity and against Covid.
And we know that we have a hard struggle still ahead of us for weeks and months, because we face a new variant of the disease that requires a new vigilance.
But as the sun rises on 2021 we have the certainty of those vaccines.
Pioneered in a UK that is also free to do things differently, and if necessary better, than our friends in the EU.
Free to do trade deals around the world.
And free to turbocharge our ambition to be a science superpower.
From biosciences to artificial intelligence,
and with our world-leading battery and wind technology we will work with partners around the world,
not just to tackle climate change but to create the millions of high skilled jobs this country will need not just this year – 2021 – as we bounce back from Covid, but in the years to come.
This is an amazing moment for this country.
We have our freedom in our hands and it is up to us to make the most of it.
And I think it will be the overwhelming instinct of the people of this country to come together as one United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland working together to express our values around the world.
Leading both the G7 and the COP 26 climate change summit in Glasgow – and an open, generous, outward looking, internationalist and free trading global Britain that campaigns for 12 years of quality education for every girl in the world.
2021 is the year we can do it, and I believe 2021 is above all, the year when we will eventually do those everyday things that now seem lost in the past.
Bathed in a rosy glow of nostalgia, going to the pub, concerts, theatres, restaurants, or simply holding hands with our loved ones in the normal way.
We are still a way off from that, there are tough weeks and months ahead.
But we can see that illuminated sign that marks the end of the journey, and even more important, we can see with growing clarity how we are going to get there.
And that is what gives me such confidence about 2021. Happy New Year!
I think we can all agree we will be glad to see the back of 2020 (writes Scottish Secretary ALISTER JACK).
We have spent months living through a global pandemic and our lives are almost unrecognisable from a year ago. For many, the tin lid on 2020 was the last minute – but sadly essential – restrictions on Christmas and immediately after.
These restrictions, and the personal sacrifices so many people have made throughout the pandemic, are not easy, but they are vital if we want to continue to protect our NHS and save lives.
I want to send my deepest condolences to all those who have lost loved ones to this cruel virus. We must not lose sight of the individual lives behind the statistics and we must keep working together to ensure that we defeat this virus for good.
But as we say farewell to 2020, we should also take a moment to consider just how much we have all achieved in this most difficult of years.
Over the past few months, we have risen to the challenge of this new virus. Confronting it with collective resilience, compassion, and generosity.
I would like to thank everyone who has done so much this year.
Our frontline workers – from health care staff to supermarket workers, teachers and everyone in between – have been nothing short of heroic. Looking after the ill, supporting the vulnerable, and keeping the country going. They have been an inspiration to us all. And our armed forces have been magnificent, helping all parts of the country throughout the pandemic.
So many others have done their bit too. From picking up shopping and prescriptions for those who needed it, to organising spirit-lifting video chats and amazing charity fundraisers – individuals up and down the country have gone out of their way to look after friends, relatives, and neighbours, as well as strangers in need.
With vaccines now rolling out across the UK, we are starting to see light at the end of the covid tunnel. We can now look to 2021 with optimism and confidence, and make it a year of successful recovery and regeneration.
We have put in place the foundations to build back better from covid. From the New Year, with a great deal now in place with the EU, our coastal communities will flourish, and we will open up new global opportunities for Scottish businesses.
The UK Government will continue to drive forward its ambitious programme of economic growth, through city deals, our Union connectivity review, and new freeports across the UK. We will continue to lead the world on climate change and will bring the world to Glasgow for COP26 in November.
With the UK pulling together, 2021 will put us firmly on the road to recovery.
The last thing we need in a year of opportunity is for Scotland to be mired in calls for another unwanted, divisive independence referendum. Now is not the time. Scottish people want instead to see the UK Government and the devolved administrations working together, in everyone’s best interest. We urge the Scottish Government to work with us to focus on supporting jobs and driving Scotland’s economic recovery.
As we begin this new chapter, my firm hope is that, UK-wide, we embrace the many opportunities ahead of us. I believe that our future is bright.
I wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year, and a better 2021.
Tesco, Superdrug and St Johnstone FC among culprits
139 companies, including major household names, have short-changed their employees and have been fined
offending firms failed to pay £6.7 million to their workers, in a completely unacceptable breach of employment law
Business Minister Paul Scully says the list should be a ‘wake-up call’ to rogue bosses, as department relaunches naming scheme after 2-year pause
Almost 140 companies, including some of the UK’s biggest household names, are being named and shamed today for failing to pay their workers the minimum wage.
Investigated between 2016 and 2018, the 139 named companies failed to pay £6.7 million to over 95,000 workers in total, in a flagrant breach of employment law. The offending companies range in size from small businesses to large multinationals who employ thousands of people across the UK.
Preserving and enforcing workers’ rights is a priority for this government. While the vast majority of businesses follow the law and uphold workers’ rights, the publication of the list is intended to serve as a warning to rogue employers that the government will take action against those who fail to pay their employees properly.
This is the first time the government has named and shamed companies for failing to pay National Minimum Wage since 2018, following reforms to the process to ensure only the worst offenders are targeted.
Business Minister Paul Scully said: “Paying the minimum wage is not optional, it is the law. It is never acceptable for any employer to short-change their workers, but it is especially disappointing to see huge household names who absolutely should know better on this list.
“This should serve as a wake-up call to named employers and a reminder to everyone of the importance of paying workers what they are legally entitled to.
“Make no mistake, those who fail to follow minimum wage rules will be caught out and made to pay up.”
One of the main causes of minimum wage breaches was low-paid employees being made to cover work costs, which would eat into their pay packet, such as paying for uniform, training or parking fees.
Also, some employers failed to raise employees’ pay after they had a birthday which should have moved them into a different National Minimum Wage bracket.
Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage have to pay back arrears of wages to the worker at current minimum wage rates. They also face hefty financial penalties of up to 200% of arrears – capped at £10,000 per worker – which are paid to the government. Each of the companies named today have paid back their workers, and were forced to pay financial penalties.
While not all breaches of minimum wage rules are intentional, it is the responsibility of all employers to ensure they are following the law. With this round, we are also publishing a short educational bulletin that summarises public guidance on paying workers and common reasons for underpayment – helping to ensure that workers are not short-changed in future.
The companies the government is naming today were served a notice of underpayment between September 2016 and July 2018, following investigations by HMRC.
Last month, the government announced a measured increase in National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates, which will come into effect from April 2021. Every worker is entitled to the National Minimum Wage, no matter their age or profession.
This is the full list of companies named for failing to pay the National Minimum Wage:
Tesco stores Limited, Welwyn Hatfield AL7, failed to pay £5,096,946.13 to 78,199 workers
Pizza Hut (U.K.) Limited, City of Edinburgh WD6, failed to pay £845,936.41 to 10,980 workers
The Lowry Hotel Limited, trading as The Lowry Hotel, Salford EC4A, failed to pay £63,431.51 to 99 workers
Doherty & Gray Limited, Mid and East Antrim BT42, failed to pay £43,470.16 to 128 workers
Independent Care & Support Ltd, Medway ME2, failed to pay £40,275.17 to 55 workers
Amber Valley Council for Voluntary Services, trading as Amber Valley Centre for Voluntary Services, Amber Valley DE5, failed to pay £37,346.46 to 104 workers
Premier Care Limited, Salford M27, failed to pay £31.198.61 to 407 workers
Hill Biscuits Limited, Tameside OL7, failed to pay £25,867.06 to 247 workers
Sendon Garage Services Limited, Lambeth SW8, failed to pay £24,869.52 to 2 workers
Natural Nails Beauty London Ltd, Haringey N15, failed to pay £15,265.58 to 4 workers
Superdrug Stores PLC, Croydon CR0, failed to pay £15,228.57 to 2222 workers
St Johnstone Football Club Limited (The), Peth and Kinross PH1, failed to pay £14,266.74 to 28 workers
Home Grown Hotels Limited, New Forest SO43, failed to pay £13,790.44 to 25 workers
Rebus Construction Ltd, Hart RH12, failed to pay £13,379.94 to 5 workers
Mrs Emma Hartley, trading as Whitehall Hairdressing, Leeds, failed to pay £12,882.14 to 2 workers
The Walshford Inn Limited, trading as The Bridge Hotel & Spa, Harrogate W1W, failed to pay £11,947.23 to 26 workers
Southern Health and Social Care Trust, Armagh City, Banbrige and Craigavon, failed to pay £11,285.34 to 269 workers
Müller UK & Ireland Group LLP, Shropshire TF9, failed to pay £10,702.11 to 54 workers
Dakota Forth Bridge Limited – Dissolved 20/03/2020, City of Edinburgh S70, failed to pay £10,236.50 to 4 workers
Pinnacle PSG Limited, City of London NW1, failed to pay £10,166.03 to 10 workers
Preystone Property Investments Limited, trading as Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant, Northumberland NE48, failed to pay £9767.15 to 26 workers
Western Brand Poultry Products (NI) Ltd, Fermanagh and Omagh BT92, failed to pay £9,275 to 50 workers
Nahid Residential Limited, trading as Manor House Hotel, Guildford GU1, failed to pay £9,159.53 to 5 workers
Norfolk Coastal Pubs Limited, trading as The Golden Fleece, North Norfolk NR23 failed to pay £8,141.69 to 14 workers
Worldwide Foods (Birmingham) Limited, trading as Al-Halal Supermarket, Birmingham B10, failed to pay £8,062.88 to 1 worker
Eat Food Limited, trading as Albatta Restaurant, Colchester CO1, failed to pay £7,987.15 to 5 workers
G & J Properties Limited, Bolton BL7, failed to pay £7,858.16 to 1 worker
Adi’s Hand Car Wash Ltd – Dissolved 19/02/2019, Barking and Dagenham RM8, failed to pay £7,750.84 to 2 workers
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, Lisburn and Castlereagh BT16, failed to pay £7,564.66 to 193 workers
Discount Wallpapers Limited, trading as O’Neills Decorating Centre, Bolton WA12, failed to pay £7,446.14 to 11 workers
Sturgess & Thompson Limited, Leicester LE1, failed to pay £7,385.40 to 2 workers
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast BT9, failed to pay £7,303.41 to 192 workers
Helio Leisure Limited, trading as Helio Fitness, Fylde FY3, failed to pay £7,298.69 to 26 workers
Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim and Newtownabbey, failed to pay £6,900.72 to 146 workers
Hoar Cross Hall Limited, East Staffordshire OX7, failed to pay £6,651.94 to 26 workers
Renard Resources Limited, Westminster WC2E, failed to pay £6,492.95 to 484 workers
Imago @ Loughborough Limited ,Charnwood LE11, failed to pay £6,319.05 to 101 workers
Western Health and Social Care Trust, Derry City and Strabane, failed to pay £6,170.97 to 170 workers
Littlemoss Preservation Limited, Tameside M43, failed to pay £5,434.18 to 4 workers
Mr Phillip Brookman, trading as Phillip Brookman Decorator & Plasterer, Cardiff failed to pay £5,141.70 to 1 worker
O & H Electrical Limited, Torbay TQ2, failed to pay, £5,139.02 to 6 workers
Mr Jonathan Evans, trading as Jonty Evans Equestrian Activities, Gloucester, failed to pay £5,008.16 to 5 workers
SKL Professional Recruitment Agency Limited, trading as SKL Homecare, Hertsmere WD19, failed to pay £4,628.69 to 43 workers
Wigan Rugby League Club Limited, trading as Wigan Warriors, Wigan WN5, failed to pay £4,559.24 to 1 worker
Mr Blerim Bajrami, trading as Secure Hand Car wash, Cannock Chase, failed to pay £4,475.01 to 3 workers
Tring Park Day Nursery Ltd, Dacorum HP23, failed to pay £4,415.63 to 2 workers
Pet Charmer Ltd – Company in liquidation April 2019, trading as Wild Animal Adventures and Pet Mania, Stockton-on-Tees LS15, failed to pay £4,168.90 to 1 worker
WKW Partnership Limited, trading as Cairngorm Hotel, Highland KA21, failed to pay £4,057.00 to 7 workers
Mr Roan Bradshaw and Ms Joy Bradshaw, trading as First Glance, Lewisham, failed to pay £3,997.58 to 1 worker
Costco Wholesale UK Limited , Hertsmere WD25, failed to pay £3,747.52 to 58 workers
Gregg Little Testing Centre Limited, County Durham TS18, failed to pay £3,703.90 to 4 workers
Solent Build Group Limited – Company Status Liquidation 06/12/2018, Southampton SO51, failed to pay £3,676.33 to 1 worker
Blakerin International Holdings Limited, trading as Cumbria Park Hotel, Carlisle LA12, failed to pay £3,611.13 to 46 workers
Multitech Site Services Limited, Uttlesford CM6, failed to pay £3,294.52 to 1 worker
Dr Jaskaram Bains and Dr Bernie Chand, Hanwell Dental Practice, Unknown, failed to pay £3,072.25 to 5 workers
Byron Hamburgers Limited, Westminster W1D, failed to pay £3,062.03 to 77 workers
Nina’s Nursery (Davenport) Limited, Stockport SK2, failed to pay £3,058.20 to 18 workers
Walton Bannus Estates Limited, Harborough LE17, failed to pay £3,051.60 to 2 workers
Circus in Schools Limited – Notice of voluntary strike-off – Nov 17, Cornwall TR13, failed to pay £2,958.85 to 2 workers
KKM Enterprises Limited- Liquidation- 23/08/2019, trading as The Cleaning Company, Redbridge B77, failed to pay £2,876.68 to 4 workers
The Bobby Dhanjal Practice Limited, trading as Bobby Dhanjal Wealth Management, Blaby LE19, failed to pay £2,868.69 to 3 workers
Manor House Country Hotel Limited, Fermanagh and Omagh BT94, failed to pay £2,837.04 to 139 workers
Morden Estates Company Limited, Dorset BH20, failed to pay £2,761.45 to 43 workers
The Education Development Service Ltd, Telford and Wrekin TF4, failed to pay £2,520.40 to 2 workers
Mr Malcolm Gilmour and Mr David Gilmour, trading as Gilmour Bros, South Lanarkshire, failed to pay £2,446.58 to 3 workers
Storrs Hall Limited, South Lakeland BB1, failed to pay £2,402.23 to 3 workers
DCS&D Limited Heritage Healthcare, Darlington DL1, failed to pay £2,393.39 to 13 workers
Rainbow Room (East Kilbride) Limited, South Lanarkshire G74, failed to pay £2,378.77 to 15 workers
Mr Darran Vaughan, trading as VAS Car Sales, Newry, Mourne and Down, failed to pay £2,351.41 to 1 worker
Mr Gnanenran Arumugam, trading as Lavender Convenience Store, Cheshire East, failed to pay £2,335.88 to 1 worker
The Calderdale Community Childcare Company Ltd, Calderdale HX2, failed to pay £2,321.81 to 2 workers
Gzim Workshop Limited Valeting Car wash, Haringey N17, failed to pay £2,297.21 to 3 workers
Alaska Fast Foods Ltd – Dissolved 05/02/2019, trading as Freddy’s Chicken & Pizza, Hyndburn M21, failed to pay £2,180.93 to 7 workers
Tracy Hart, trading as Little Oaks Pre School, Dacorum, failed to pay £2,134.47 to 1 worker
Chi Yip Group Limited , Oldham M24, failed to pay £2,121.51 to 14 workers
Four Pillars Hotels Limited, Harrogate HG2, failed to pay £2,092.55 to 29 workers
Mr William Fleeson, trading as Rainbow Room International, Stirling, failed to pay £2,089.66 to 11 workers
D & D Decorators Limited, East Ayrshire KA3, failed to pay £2,080.35 to 1 worker
Kiddi Day Care Limited-Liquidation of the company commenced Feb 2019, trading as Blue Giraffe Childcare, Birmingham SA1, failed to pay £1,978.57 to 9 workers
Dessian Products Limited, Belfast BT12, failed to pay £1,885.00 to 1 worker
Crewe Hotel Trading Limited, trading as Holiday Inn Express Crewe, Cheshire East S43, failed to pay £1,871.52 to 19 workers
Fast Fresh Ltd- Liquidated Dec 2019, trading as Subway, Sunderland BN1, failed to pay £1,833.02 to 3 workers
Document Transport Limited, trading as Kegworth Hotel, North West Leicestershire PE2, failed to pay £1,801.07 to 10 workers
Larne Coachworks Limited, Mid and East Antrim BT1, failed to pay £1,791.69 to 1 worker
Mrs Therese Ann Binns, trading as Winston Churchill, Bradford, failed to pay £1,774.35 to 3 workers
Mr Brian Wilde, Ms Mariella Gabbutt, Mr Tony Wilde, Mr Joseph Wilde, trading as J & B Wilde & Sons, Manchester, failed to pay £1,717.23 to 4 workers
UKS Group Limited, Bristol, City of BS1, failed to pay £1,666.88 to 13 workers
LM Bubble Tea Ltd, trading as Mooboo, Liverpool L15, failed to pay £1,628.49 to 14 workers
The Wensleydale Heifer Limited, Richmondshire DL8, failed to pay £1,625.89 to 3 workers
Fewcott Healthcare Limited, Cherwell OX27, failed to pay £1,575.00 to 2 workers
Hotel Birmingham Ltd , trading as Travellers Inn, Sandwell B69, failed to pay £1,516.25 to 3 workers
Keasim Glasgow Limited, trading as Malones Glasgow, Glasgow City G2, failed to pay £1,503.43 to 1 worker
Shades Hair Design Limited- Dissolved 18/12/2018, trading as Shades Hair & Beauty, Bridgend CF32, failed to pay £1,487.98 to 2 workers
Signature Inns Limited, trading as Westmead Hotel, Bromsgrove B48, failed to pay £1,456.81 to 5 workers
Kingsland Engineering Company Limited (The), North Norfolk NR26, failed to pay £1,331.79 to 4 workers
The Roxburghe Hotel Edinburgh Limited (we have been notified that this company is no longer operating and that the Roxburghe Hotel is under new management), City of Edinburgh EH3, failed to pay £1,317.43 to 47 workers
Business Services Organisation, Belfast BT2, failed to pay £1,310.69 to 32 workers
Clare McFarlane and Suzanne McGill, trading as Rainbow Room International, South Lanarkshire, failed to pay £1,304.77 to 16 workers
Mrs Krystle Purdy, trading as Krystalized, Epping Forest, failed to pay £1,294.13 to 1 worker.
Oakminster Healthcare Limited, trading as Cumbrae House Care Home, Glasgow City G41, failed to pay £1,292.30 to 21 workers
Rainbows Day Care (Pembrokeshire) Limited-Company dissolved 03/03/2020, Pembrokeshire SA66, failed to pay £1,273.38 to 46 workers
Maltings Entertainment Limited, trading as Carbon Nightclub and The Mill Bar and Grill Restaurant, Mid Suffolk IP6, failed to pay £1,263.44 to 1 worker
Ben Ong UK Limited – Company Status Liquidation 28/11/2018, Barnet N12, failed to pay £1,257.12 to 3 workers
Mr Nosh Fusha, trading as Green Lane Car Wash, Walsall, failed to pay £1,254.73 to 1 worker
Cygnet Health Care Limited, Tonbridge and Malling TN15, failed to pay £1,249.55 to 15 workers
Thurlaston Meadows Care Home Ltd, Rugby CV23, failed to pay £1,223.54 to 1 worker
Trent Park Catering Limited Companies Status- Active Proposal to Strike Off, trading as Trent Park Café, Enfield EN4, failed to pay £1,213.77 to 10 workers
Lord Hill Hotel Limited, Shropshire SY2, failed to pay £1,168.91 to 18 workers
Smart Solutions (Recruitment) Limited, Newport NP18, failed to pay £1,152.09 to 90 workers
Black Rock Hotels Limited, trading as Leighinmohr House Hotel,Mid and East Antrim BT42, failed to pay £1,138.05 to 30 workers
Gino’s Dial-A-Pizza Ltd, Cannock Chase WS11, failed to pay £1,117.38 to 7 workers
Mitras Automotive (UK) Limited, Cheshire West and Chester CW7, failed to pay£1,048.29 to 3 workers
Anjana Bhog Sweets Limited-Dissolved 17/09/19, Brent UB3, failed to pay £1,020.00 to 1 worker
Mr Mohammed Nasir, trading as Omar Khayyam, City of Edinburgh, failed to pay £935.31 to 2 workers
About Face Beauty Clinic Limited, Glasgow City G74, failed to pay £924.51 to 6 workers
Mr Howard Coy, trading as H Coy & Son, Melton failed to pay £902.29 to 1 worker
Jameson Knight Estates Limited-Dissolved 29/01/2019, Tower Hamlets E2, failed to pay £885.06 to 2 workers
Croome International Transport Limited, Maidstone ME17, failed to pay £869.19 to 8 workers
Rainbow Room (24 Royal Exchange Square) Limited, Glasgow City G1, failed to pay £851.70 to 6 workers
The Coaching Inn Group (No2) Limited-Application for voluntary strike-off – Dec 2019, Boston PE21, failed to pay £811.88 to 2 workers
Cotswold Motor Group Limited, Cheltenham GL51, failed to pay £796.31 to 2 workers
Glenpac Bacon Products Limited , Newry, Mourne and Down BT35, failed to pay £752.02 to 2 workers
Mistsolar Limited, trading as Bridgend Ford, Bridgend CF31, failed to pay £739.00 to 1 worker
Robinson’s of Failsworth (Bakers) Limited, Tameside M35, failed to pay £736.82 to 9 workers
Mr Timothy Lock and Mrs Beatrice Lock, trading as Woodborough Hall, Gedling, failed to pay £723.60 to 2 workers
Nova Display Limited, Leeds LS25, failed to pay £722.78 to 1 worker
Dessert House on the River Limited- Compulsory notice to strike off – 17/03/20 suspended 29/04/20, trading as Kaspa’s Desserts, Lewisham M16, failed to pay £719.10 to 1 worker
Mr Edwin Minchin, trading as Eddie’s Diner, Great Yarmouth, failed to pay £670.13 to 3 workers
The Izaak Walton Hotel (Dovedale) Ltd, Staffordshire Moorlands LA22, failed to pay £667.60 to 2 workers
Mr David Blake, trading as Foxhills Farm and Riding Centre, Walsall, failed to pay£667.54 to 1 worker
Shaoke Hospitality Ltd- Dissolved 30/04/2020, trading as Mooboo, Leeds L15, failed to pay £664.94 to 5 workers
Richard Webster & Co Limited, Eastleigh SO50, failed to pay £621.23 to 1 worker
Newemoo Limited, Birmingham B5, failed to pay £591.86 to 2 workers
Regional Buildings Assessments LLP, Hyndburn BB1, failed to pay £562.89 to 2 workers
Ace Hospitality Ltd, trading as Holiday Inn Express Birmingham- South A45, Birmingham B73, failed to pay £556.15 to 14 workers
Mrs Elizabeth Norris and Dr Terry Hooper, trading as St Bart’s Day Nurseries, Dover, failed to pay £552.53 to 9 workers
The Club Company (UK) Limited, Wokingham RG10, failed to pay £540.30 to 11 workers
Eat Tokyo Limited, Barnet NW11, failed to pay £530.83 to 2 workers
Molescroft Nursing Home (Holdings) Limited, trading as Beverley Grange Nursing Home, East Riding of Yorkshire HU13, failed to pay £510.24 to 1 worker
The Naming Scheme was paused in 2018 so that an evaluation into its effectiveness could be carried out. On 11 February 2020 the government announced that the Naming Scheme would resume.
The government undertook a review of the Naming Scheme in order to ascertain its effectiveness and ensure naming was used in the most efficient way. The review was published in February 2020.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has paid tribute to the Scottish recipients of awards in The Queen’s New Year Honours list.
Professor Francis McCormac, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Stirling, has been honoured with a Knighthood for services to education and to the economy.
Professor Ian Finlay, Professor Bashabi Fraser, Professor Sheila Rowan MBE and Professor Petra Wend will receive CBEs.
Recipients of an OBE include Dr Heather Bacon, Michael Bullock and Michael Tobias.
Those honoured with an MBE include Rosemary Brewster, Christine Campbell, Ronald and Joyce Loveland, Kenneth Macdonald, Abdul Majid, Marie Shevas and Jacqueline Winning.
Amongst those awarded a BEM are Maxine Allan, Desmond Cheyne, Swaran Chowdhary, James Foxley, John Gilfillan, Patricia Holt, Jamie Kinlochan, Jennifer McCartney, Charlotte Park, Mohammed Rakq, Graham Watson and Linda Yule.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The New Year Honours list highlights the exceptional contributions of the people of Scotland whose outstanding service and dedication has made a lasting contribution to communities the length and breadth of our country. Their service, in fields ranging from the arts, education and sport to charity, community and science, has benefited people right across society.
“The response to the coronavirus pandemic this year has seen countless people bravely and selflessly go above and beyond their usual duties. It is right that many of them are being honoured, and we continue to be incredibly grateful for their actions during this period.
“I also want to extend my congratulations to emergency service personnel who have been awarded The Queen’s Fire, Police or Ambulance Service Medals. Our emergency services deserve our continued gratitude for helping to keep people and communities across Scotland safe every day of the year and, of course, especially in these unprecedented times.”
Commenting on Her Majesty’s New Year Honours list, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “The Honours list demonstrates the wealth of talent and commitment in Scotland’s science, education, sport and public life. We should all be proud of our country’s outstanding achievements in these fields.
“Her Majesty has also recognised the dedication, compassion and kindness of so many ordinary people up and down the UK. As we all know too well, 2020 has been a year like no other. So many Scots have gone above and beyond in supporting friends, neighbours and their wider community during the pandemic. These are not people who seek the limelight, so I’m very glad that so many of those local heroes have been recognised by Her Majesty.
“My heartfelt congratulations go to the many Scots who have been honoured by Her Majesty.”
Recipients of The Queen’s New Year Honours in Scotland include:
A Knighthood for:
Professor Francis McCormac for services to education and to the economy
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire(CBE) include:
Caroline Gardner for services to the Scottish public sector
Peter Dawson for services to golf
Maureen McGinn for services to civil society
Professor Ian Finlay for services to medical education and training
Professor Sheila RowanMBE for services to science
Professor Bashabi Fraser for services to education, culture and integration in Scotland
Professor Petra Wend for services to higher education
Officers of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) include:
Michael Bullock for services to the safety and welfare of seafarers
Philip Archer for services to art and education
Dr Beverly Bergman for services to veterans in Scotland
Donalda Bradbury for services to Rugby Union
Dr Hermione Cockburn for services to public engagement in science
Richard Paterson for services to the Scotch Whisky industry
Ann McVie for public service
Among those to be made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) are:
Paul Miller for services to retail customers during the COVID-19 response
Colleen Blair for services to swimming
Rosemary Brewster for services to end of life care
Professor Geoffrey Codd for services to water quality
Robert Dick for services to disability sport
Ronald Loveland and Joyce Loveland for services to foster care in Moray
Kenneth MacKay for services to the community in Rhenigidale, Western Isles
Robert Rankin for services to civil engineering and to innovation
Vinaykant Ruparelia for services to local enterprise, tourism and to the community in Portsoy, Banffshire
Alexander Watt for services to young people with additional needs and disabilities and to community cohesion in Glasgow
Among those to become a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) are:
Charandeep Singh for services to charity during the COVID-19 response
Maxine Allan for services to young people with cancer and NHS front line workers in Ayr during the COVID-19 response
Jacqueline Campbell for charitable services to the Children’s Hospital Association Scotland, particularly during the COVID-19 response
Margaret Cook for services to Ayrshire Hospice
Richard Foxley for voluntary service to the NHS during the COVID-19 response
William Henderson for voluntary service in the Shetland Islands
Jamie Kinlochan for services to the vulnerable during the COVID-19 response through Who Cares Scotland
Paula Morag Lloyd for services to the vulnerable in Inverness during the COVID-19 response
Mary Nelson for services to Homeless People in Moray
Charlotte Park for services to the Armed Forces
Mohammed Usman Rakq for services to education and to students with hearing impairments
Keith Rutherford for services to the community in Colonsay and Oronsay
Jackie Stuart for services to law and order and cultural heritage
Recipients of Fire, Police and Ambulance Service medals in Scotland
The recipients of The Queen’s Fire, Police and Ambulance Service medals in Scotland are as follows:
