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Welcome to the second edition of the Business Glasgow newsletter. We are continuing to share news on the support available for businesses during the Coronavirus pandemic, advice for individuals, opportunities and good news stories from around the city.
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Coronavirus Business Support
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Each Local Authority is administering the Scottish Government's Coronavirus Business Fund for businesses registered in that area. There has been a huge response from the local business community with Glasgow City Council in receipt of nearly 10,000 applications over the past two weeks, with potentially thousands more to come.
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There are two types of grant available to ratepayers:
- £10,000 grant to ratepayers of businesses in receipt of the Small Business Bonus Scheme or Rural Relief.
- £25,000 grant for retail, hospitality and leisure business ratepayers with a rateable value between £18,001 - £50,999.
Before submitting your application, please check that you have:
- fully completed your form, including your Rates Return Number and saved it as a PDF or Word doc only
- included a legible copy of your business bank statement as a jpeg, png or PDF only
- attached these and send together in one email.
The application form and details on how to apply can be found here.
If you do not follow the above guidance the processing of your application will be delayed. We are experiencing extremely high numbers of applications and can't stress enough just how important it is to follow these steps carefully.
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Social Distancing Guidelines for Businesses
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Social distancing measures are for everyone, including businesses and it's incredibly important that during this difficult time all businesses act responsibly to protect public health.
The Scottish Government has updated its advice on social distancing for businesses to help provide clarity on protecting employees in the fight against Coronavirus.
See the updated advice here.
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There are now a variety of schemes, guidance and funding programmes in place to support and steer many different business sectors. We've collated some of the advice available for each industry below...
Third Sector
The Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF) is an emergency fund for charities, community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations working in Scotland. Grants from £5,000-£100,000 are on offer as well as 0% loans from £50,000. Visit SCVO to find out more here.
Creative Industries
To support the creative community of Scotland during the Coronavirus outbreak, Creative Scotland has announced three new funds.
- A Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund will help sustain creative practice by freelance creative professionals who have lost earnings due to the cancellation of work as a result of COVID-19.
- A parallel Screen Scotland Bridging Bursary Fund will provide similar one-off bursary support to self-employed screen sector workers.
- The Open Fund: Sustaining Creative Development will provide support for individuals and organisations to sustain their creative development in the coming months.
Find out more about the funds here.
The Creative Entrepreneurs Club is also offering free membership and has refocused content to further support creative businesses during this time. Find out more here.
Food and Drink Industry
Scotland Food and Drink has created an online hub hosting information for food and drink businesses. It includes information on financial support for farms, seafood producers and other businesses, as well as advice for employers on protecting the workforce, recruitment, deliveries and more. Find out more here.
Construction Industry
The Scottish Government has issued specific advice for businesses in the construction industry, this includes criteria for essential projects, timelines for the closure of work sites and more. This can be found here.
Self Employed
Support for the self-employed will aim to support those who earn the majority of their income from self-employment and those with a trading profit of less than £50,000 in 2018/19. Those who are eligible will be contacted by HMRC directly.
Find out more about the benefits available, the caveats and the implications in the Business Glasgow blog here.
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Business Glasgow Support Information
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Over on our blog at Business Glasgow we are keeping an updated summary of all the support mechanisms available to all types of businesses. Since last week this has been updated with advice for third sector organisations, business coaching sessions, links to webinars and more!
Visit the blog here.
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Normally at this time of year Glasgow City Council would be in contact with all Glasgow Living Wage (GLW) employers seeking their continued support for the GLW as it increases from £9 to £9.30 per hour from 1 April 2020. Unfortunately the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on our ability to contact our valued partners.
The current pandemic impacts every person, business and community and GLW employers are facing unprecedented times. Business support for the GLW is extremely valued and perhaps never more so than during this pandemic. GLW employers choose to pay the Living Wage because it is the right and fair thing to do and helps us all work for a Fairer Glasgow.
So far we have witnessed a wide range of front line workers continue to go the extra mile and also employers adapting their productions to support us all through this crisis. This continued resilience, kindness, resourcefulness and empathy will go a long way to helping everyone through this crisis. In addition, business adoption of Fair Work practices, including paying the Glasgow Living Wage of £9.30 per hour from 1 April 2020, will make a huge contribution to a Fairer Glasgow.
Thank you to the Glasgow business community for your continued and valued support. To those employers who wish to sign up to the Glasgow Living Wage as a new GLW employer you can do so at https://www.glasgowlivingwage.co.uk.
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Costa Coffee Shops Donate Supplies to NHS
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University of Glasgow named as key Covid-19 Research Centre
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Following store closures, Costa coffee locations in Glasgow have donated surplus stock to the NHS and Scottish Ambulance Service.
It’s hoped the Items, including fresh milk and cakes as well as hand sanitiser, tissues, cups and coffee making facilities, will give front line staff a boost.
Prior to closing stores the chain had also pledged to give free coffees to NHS workers and has since donated 250,000 free drinks to staff.
Read more here.
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On the 23rd March the University of Glasgow's Centre for Virus Research (CVR) was named as one of 13 key centres in a pan-UK alliance of scientists, working on COVID-19 whole genome sequencing, analysis of the virus, and identifying potential therapies.
The University of Glasgow is also hosting a major COVID-19 testing centre at the Clinical Innovation Zone at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus, made possible by support from Scottish and UK Governments, NHS, industry partners and over 500 staff volunteers.
Read more here.
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Glasgow School Makes Visors
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The Glasgow NHS Taxi Fund has been set up to provide free transport for NHS staff travelling to and from a Glasgow hospital. The fund is initially in partnership with Glasgow Taxis Ltd who are already giving heavily discounted rates for staff.
Want to donate? Find out more here. |
Staff at Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow are using 3d printers and laser cutters to produce protective masks for NHS staff. They are currently making hundreds daily for local hospitals and are looking for supplies to keep up production!
Read more here.
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Online Support from Business Gateway
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Business Gateway Glasgow is working hard to support businesses through the Coronavirus outbreak. Previously planned workshops are now available as Webinars and the website has been updated with new resources including advice on managing teams remotely, staying motivated while home-working, trading online, managing stress and business continuity planning.
See the resources here.
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Learning at a (Social) Distance
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Business Gateway Webinars
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Business Gateway have a huge array of National and Local webinars coming up over the next few weeks. These include:
Managing Your Business Reputation
Advice on how to manage your businesses reputation during Covid-19 including communications planning and 'giving back' opportunities.
10th April - 10am-12pm | Book here.
Check out what else is available in your region and sign up here.
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Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Webinars
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Glasgow Chamber of Commerce are supporting businesses with free webinars. Including
Coronavirus business discussion with Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive, Stuart Patrick CBE
Wednesday 8th April - 3-3.30pm
Find out more about this and upcoming webinars here.
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The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Webinar
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Coronavirus: Financial help explained for SMEs and the self-employed. Webinar available on demand.
Find out more about this and register to join here.
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Viridor is Scotland’s leading recycling, renewable energy and sustainable waste partner. They will be working with Glasgow businesses hosting workshops over Zoom Video Conferencing.
Prepare for Change. Together We Make It Happen!
Workshop Delivered by believe-IN. Make it Happen! and will look at focusing on the enhancement of the individual’s ability to cope with change, growth, and development.
23rd April - 10-11am
Improve Your Twitter Engagement Rate by 500%
Hosted by Alistair Campbell from Two Hour Digital, the workshop will look at how brands can improve their presence on Twitter.
30th April - 3-4pm
To find out more visit here or email.
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In Catalonia a local project has been launched to help keep independent book shops in business while they are closed. Customers are able to pay in advance for books which they can collect once the lockdown has ended, allowing shop owners to cover bills in the mean time.
What a lovely read! Take a look here.
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