Prime Minister Boris Johnson's unwavering commitment to strengthen and sustain the United Kingdom took a crucial step forward today with the completion of Queen Elizabeth House, the new UK Government flagship hub in Edinburgh. The hub will house nearly 3,000 civil servants from 11 departments, to deliver a bigger, better and more coordinated service to people and businesses.
A new government package worth £172 million will help to train thousands more nursing degree apprentices. Nursing careers made more accessible through ‘earn and learn' route.
The Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR) for Scotland's latest annual report shows that Scottish Water's compliance with the stringent standards for drinking water remains high at 99.92%. The report, covering Drinking Water Quality in Scotland during 2019, states that a total of 310,605 regulatory tests were carried out on Scotland's drinking water last year.
This release is a collaboration with the Officefor National Statistics (ONS) and Ordnance Survey mapping the location and characteristics of high streets in Great Britain. Retail has been among the sectors most affected by the COVID19 outbreak.
Actually a topic for farmers but interesting. From Farmers Weekly.
What all of us have know for a very long time is that in the far north and the islands we have much higher delivery charges. A very comprehensive report now confirms this in fine detail.
Today's item from Scottish Government begs the question for everyone - Do we need to go out other than for essential purchases? The virus does not care about changes to say you can go out. --------------------------- Test and Protect vital to containing spread of COVID-19.
Anne Longfield, Children's Commissioner for England, has published a new briefing setting out the key actions needed to ensure children are at the heart of planning for any future coronavirus lockdowns, including making sure all children are back in school in September. The Children's Commissioner argues that if any local or national lockdown takes place, schools should be the last places to be locked down, after pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops.
Care home residents will be able to receive more outdoor visitors from Monday, 10 August 2020, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has confirmed. From this date care home residents will be able to have up to three outdoor visitors from no more than two households provided their home meets strict criteria, with infection control measures remaining in place.
31 projects secure an additional year's funding. Funding for 31 third sector projects in social care has been extended to March 2022 with the announcement of an additional £2.9 million of Scottish Government backing.
The Highland Council, NHS Highland and Police Scotland are working closely to ensure that we all stay alert to the threat of COVID-19. The public are being asked to be vigilant and observe all guidance especially when attending licensed premises.
Vaccine programme expanded to protect those most at risk during COVID-19 pandemic. Social care workers, people over 55 and household members of those who are shielding will all be eligible for the free seasonal flu vaccine.
Face coverings to be mandatory across more indoor public premises. Settings where face coverings must be legally worn in Scotland is expanding to include certain indoor public places such as cinemas, galleries, museums and banks, from Saturday (8 August 2020).
Food and drink businesses across Scotland have been awarded a share of £5 million to invest in infrastructure, purchase new equipment and upgrade or replace facilities. In total 30 businesses will receive Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC) grants to support the food supply chain, safeguarding 1,386 jobs and creating 97 new ones.
New data published today reveals more than 65,000 businesses in Scotland benefitted from over £2.3 billion of support through government-supported loan schemes. over 63,000 loans worth over £1.8 billion have been offered under the Bounce Bank Loans Scheme over 2,600 loans and support worth £587 million have been offered under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme 29% of employees furloughed and 155,000 people supported through the SEISS More than 65,000 businesses in Scotland benefited from over £2.3 billion of support to bounce back from COVID through government-supported loan schemes.
Funding for digital and workforce training. Immediate investment in jobs and digital technology will provide the foundations for a strong economic recovery from coronavirus (COVID-19), Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said.
Subsea 7 will be moving the final two towheads from Wick Harbour to Wester Site tomorrow, 7th of August; leaving Wick Harbour around 09:00 (dates and times are subject to having suitable weather and Police availability). This move should be similar to previous towhead moves, leaving Wick Harbour and proceeding directly to Wester Site.
Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) update. At yesterday's (6 August) meeting of the Education Committee, Members were updated on the Council's provision of ELC, as part of the return of school and ELC settings.
The claims service for restaurants taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme is open. Outlets can now claim reimbursements from the UK Government for discounts given to their diners this week (Monday to Wednesday), and payment will be made within five working days.
From the Resolution foundation 1st August 2020. The number of people currently furloughed is less than half this amount.
