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...
Some of the world’s brightest minds in fintech and investment are being brought together by tech-focused investment bank ICON Corporate Finance to provide a masterclass on successfully raising funds. The expert panel will provide the inside track on how to pitch for investment, whether through a bank, venture capital group or corporate venture capital...
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...
Major challenges for employers ranging from managing remote staff to changing the way entire organisations work post Covid-19 will be tackled head-on in a webinar to be staged next week by regional law firm Royds Withy King. Called Workforce of the Future: The New Norm, the event will give insights from practical futurist and...
Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, has welcomed the launch today of the government’s Kickstart scheme, which offers subsidised job placements to out-of-work young people. Under the £2bn programme, 16 to 24 year olds claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment, will be able to gain six-month work placements. The government...
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...
