Measures in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Winter Economic Plan have been welcomed as “bold steps” and “a shot in the arm” for industry by the UK’s leading business groups. The CBI said it would save hundreds of thousands of viable jobs while the British Chambers of Commerce said it would help many companies hold on...
The Winter Economic Plan announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak today may help stave off mass unemployment, but it failed to target support to those sectors that need it most, according to the West of England’s largest business organisation. Business West, which runs the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, along with other business groups, had urged...
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled his Winter Economy Plan to help businesses and their employees as Covid-19 continues to have a devastating impact. The key points are: A Jobs Support Scheme for employees will replace the furlough scheme, which effectively paid people not to work. Under this new scheme, businesses will pay employees for...
Business West, the organisation behind the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, today called for a comprehensive support package for firms hit by the latest coronavirus measures. With the number of cases of Covid-19 rising again – promoting a new raft of restrictions on businesses – Business West urged the government to take action to protect...
Food and drink producers from Swindon and its surroundings will have an opportunity to meet commercial trade officers working across the world tomorrow, Tuesday, September 22, at the first-ever virtual Meet the Market Expert event. It is being organised by the Department for International Trade (DIT) in conjunction with the Great British Food Programme delivered...
Firms in the South West are among the most pessimistic in the UK about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with many expecting to shed jobs when the government’s furlough scheme ends, according to a new survey. The Lloyds Bank Business Barometer, which takes the pulse of 1,200 firms across England every month, shows...
A wooden furniture business founded by two friends with a shared passion for their craft has received external validation of its sustainability status in a timber industry certification scheme. Forest to Home gained the accreditation through the Grown in Britain (GIB) Chain of Custody Certification programme, which provides validation of the origin of timber...
The coronavirus pandemic has hit profits at more than 60% of firms in the West of England – with nearly one-in-seven fearing they will never return to pre-Covid levels of activity, according to the largest business survey in the region. Just under a quarter of firms have, or plan to, axe jobs with a...
The CBI said Chancellor Rishi Sunak was “absolutely right” to prioritise jobs in his summer statement this afternoon. Director-general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, pictured, said: “Flattening the daunting unemployment curve about to hit our country could not be more important. Joblessness scars lives and hits the young and most disadvantaged hardest. “Today’s jobs plan is an...
Measures to address the huge economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic announced this afternoon by Chancellor Rishi Sunak have been welcomed by Business West, the region’s largest business group. Matt Griffith, director of policy at Business West – which runs the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative – described them as impressive but also added that...
