August 25th - Coronavirus News Updates

Latest UK data:

Positive tests: 326,614 have tested positive + daily 853 new cases

Loss of life: *41,433 across all settings + 4

Cases in Stockport: 44 cases 14 Aug – 20 Aug (- 23 on previous week)

Cases in Stockport: 15 per 100,000 (England area average is 7)

Deaths in Stockport: 354 registered to 7 August

Total cases in Stockport: 1,955 since start of pandemic

Daily reported COVID deaths are now measured across the UK as deaths that occurred within 28 days of the first laboratory-confirmed positive COVID test

The R number and growth rate in the UK
The latest reproduction number (R) and growth rate of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK. The R number range for the UK is 0.9-1.1 and the growth rate range is -3% to +1% per day as of 21 August 2020.

Coronavirus cases in the UK: daily updated statistics
The latest number of coronavirus (COVID-19) tests, cases and deaths in the UK. The way deaths are reported has been reviewed and updated using a measure based on a 28-day limit between the date of a positive lab-confirmed test and date of death.

Slides, datasets and transcripts to accompany coronavirus press conferences
Slides, datasets and transcripts from press conferences at 10 Downing Street in response to coronavirus.

UK HEADLINES:

BREAKING: Co-op Bank to shed 350 jobs among branch closures
The Co-operative Bank has said it will cut 350 jobs and close 18 branches due to the current “economic uncertainty” and the shift to online banking. As well as jobs lost due to the branch closures, the cuts also include middle management and head office roles. The bank said that, where possible, it would look to redeploy colleagues. Coronavirus is accelerating the trend away from the High Street to online. Earlier this month, NatWest said it was cutting 550 jobs in branches.

Tesco to create 16,000 permanent jobs after ‘lockdown success’
Grocery giant Tesco has announced plans to create tens of thousands of jobs after a strong performance during lockdown. The firm is set to create 16,000 new jobs, including 10,000 staff to pick customer orders from shelves and 3,000 delivery drivers. The roles, which will be permanent, are being created in response to the growing demand for online shopping, which has risen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions.

Debenhams Parent Company ‘preparing for its own administration
The parent company of high street chain Debenhams has reportedly hired advisers to handle its own administration. According to reports in The Telegraph and The Times, Celine Group Holdings has hired Philip Watkins and Philip Armstrong from FRP Advisory. However, this is understood to be aimed at avoiding paying overdue interest payments on £200m of bonds which were believed to have been due on July 15. The move will not affect Debenhams’ own administration process, its sales, customers or its staff. The department store chain entered a ‘light touch’ administration in April this year, the second time it had done so in the space of a year, to protect it from creditors while it conducted a sales process for the business. Directors are still running the chain, rather than administrators.

KPMG: Northern businesses secure more VC investment
The amount of venture capital investment secured by Northern businesses increased in the first half of 2020, according to a KPMG. The Venture Pulse Survey by KPMG Private Enterprise found venture capital totalling £263m backed 82 businesses across the North in the first six months of 2020. This represents a jump by value of nearly half (49 per cent) compared to H1 2019 when investment reached £176.5m, and a 24 per cent increase in the number of deals. Lizzie Smith, of KPMG Private Enterprise, said: “In a period that saw global lockdowns, economic contraction and a unique health crisis unfold, the expectation was that investment would be hit, but the venture capital market remained buoyant.
Read on at Insider

Unity and division in Great Britain
The effect of the coronavirus pandemic on perceptions of unity and division in Great Britain. Includes an assessment of unity and division over time and across numerous socioeconomic divides, such as age, sex, income, and perceptions of community.

LOCAL / REGIONAL NEWS & UPDATES:

Robinsons customers 96% satisfied with Covid-19 safety measures

Robinsons Brewery have revealed that customer satisfaction with their tenanted and managed COVID-19 safety guidelines are hitting the mark with customers. Under the banner of ‘Safe Visit’, the family brewer created a guide to safe trading and a range of editable signage and safety posters, banners and tent cards for the pubs to use. These were shared via Robinsons’ Business Development Teams working closely with the pubs, and through the closed Facebook group the company created to offer assistance and share latest news with its licensees; which now has nearly 400 members. The reaction to this was then measured using a short survey, which has now had over 1,800 responses.

The key things you need to know about Manchester Airport this week:

Flights from Terminal Two set to move to Terminal One, new destinations for airlines including Hi Fly to Islamabad, plus Government changes its ‘travel corridors’ list with Portugal added. As we approach what should be the busiest weekend for the UK’s third biggest airport, the Northern hub is updating customers on its latest developments.

Terminals:

Throughout the pandemic the airport has worked closely with its airlines and retailers to align its operations with passenger demand, to deliver the best possible customer experience. To efficiently meet the current capacity and demand for travel, flights currently operating from Terminal Two will move to Terminal One from 2^nd September. Passengers are advised to check which terminal they’re flying from before arriving at the airport, as some airlines are operating from a different terminal than usual.

Flights:

Last week saw Portugal added to the ‘travel corridors’ list, opening up one of the airport’s most popular destinations without the need for quarantine upon return to the UK. However, four countries were removed from the UK Government’s ‘travel corridors’ list, including Croatia and Austria.

Read about Passenger Locator Form, Safety Measures and Retail offering at Marketing Stockport

Local restrictions: areas with an outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19)
A list of areas with additional local restrictions. Includes information for local authorities, residents and workers about what to do and how to manage the outbreak – added link to Blackburn with Darwen, Oldham, Pendle: local restrictions

North of England: local restrictions
Find out what you can and cannot do if you live, work or travel in areas of the north of England.

Stockport Business Support coronavirus recovery

As Stockport’s business community prepares for recovery post-coronavirus, a group of business leaders from the town have collaborated with Stockport Council to launch a new website – www.skbusinessrecovery.co.uk to support businesses through the phases of recovery.

Business Grants Funds: programme closure.
The Small Business grants fund, the Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Grants Fund and the Discretionary Grants Fund, should close by Friday 28^th August. No further grants will be considered beyond that date.

If you believe you are entitled to the Small Business Grants Fund, the Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Grants Fund https://www.stockport.gov.uk/support-for-businesses-and-employers/small-business-grant-funding-coronavirus but haven’t yet provided your bank account details to the Council then please do so as soon as possible using the link provided.

Stockport businesses grant funding payments:

Main Grant Scheme:

Stockport Council have now administered a total of 5,401 grants bringing the total amount paid to £61,990,000 and bringing the total to 98.6% of those identified as eligible as at 11/03/2020.

Local Authority Discretionary Grant funding scheme

Status of LAD Payments to date:
Applications: 791

Payments: £1,753,500

By working in collaboration, Stockport can become united and encouraged to build a better future for everyone by supporting the local economy, connecting communities and promoting health & wellbeing. Find out more at www.onestockport.co.uk

Stockport – is your business open for business?

Is your business in Stockport? Are you ‘open for business’? Whatever your business, we want to support you. And it’s free! Follow the link, fill in the form and we will add you to our directory

Stockport – Open for Business

CLEAN AIR PLAN:

Following the publication of a report on the GM Clean Air Plan consultation, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is hosting a round table meeting for local businesses on 2^nd and 3^rd September. Click here for more information and to sign up

COMMUNITY:

Stockport’s first digital device lending library has been set up for residents who have no or limited access to the internet.
Tablets and laptops are free to borrow, and free data packages are also available. There’s also support to get online and staying safe online via our Community Digital Champions. It has been set up by Starting Point part of the borough’s DigiKnow alliance – a group of organisations promoting the importance of digital skills and helping more people in Stockport become confident, independent users of digital devices and the internet. It builds on the digital skills support that has been offered to residents throughout the pandemic as people have increasingly relied on the internet, whether to complete school work, order shopping or to keep up with family and friends.

One Stockport Community Engagement Webinar
Hosted by Parents & Carers Together Stockport. We now have a unique opportunity to harness our new-found sense of community to become united as One Stockport.
Thursday, August 27, 2020 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Coronavirus: How to help safely
Across the UK people are playing their part and providing essential support to their friends and family who are in isolation.

Coronavirus outbreak FAQs: what you can and can’t do
Frequently asked questions on what you can and can’t do during the coronavirus outbreak – added guidance on what happens when you are ill on holiday in England.

CONSTRUCTION:

Government Covid-19 construction worker pay-outs top £6billion
The unprecedented level of support for construction was revealed in new HM Revenue and Customs figures to the end of July. Around £2.93bn has now been paid out to 174,000 firms making claims for staff on furlough. Over 769,000 staff have received support, with three-quarters of the industry’s eligible firms signing up to the coronavirus job retention scheme at some point in the last six months.
From now on the number of staff on furlough is expected to diminish sharply as contractors bring staff back into work or opt for redundancies to slim down for predicted lower levels of activity. Since August employers have been asked to pay National Insurance and pensions contributions of furloughed staff and from September the amount of Government support to furloughed staff drops from 80% to 70% of salary.

CULTURE, MEDIA & SPORT:

GAD helps kickstart UK film and TV productions
Government Actuaries Department – GAD – plays a central role in a new £500m government scheme set to kickstart the UK film and TV productions affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

EMPLOYERS / BUSINESS / FINANCE:

Help and support if your business is affected by coronavirus (COVID-19)
Watch videos and register for the free webinars to learn more about the?support available to help you deal with the economic impacts of?coronavirus.

Claim for wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Claim for 80% of your employee’s wages plus any employer National Insurance and pension contributions, if you have put them on furlough or flexible furlough because of coronavirus (COVID-19).
‘What you’ll need section’ updated to tell employers using the template for 100 or more employees that it may be rejected if the information provided is not given in the right format.

Coronavirus and occupational switching: January to June 2020
This article aims to look at the occupation switches across the labour market, focusing at the different demographics and the individual characteristics of the job movers, such as sex, age and qualifications. Using the LFS data from Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2019 up to Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2020, we aim to understand the impact of coronavirus on the job changes in the economy, also exploring the analysis from the industry angle. Aiming to understand which industries have seen changes in their workforce.

UK Government supports the income of over 510,000 people across Wales
Latest figures show an increase in the number of people in Wales benefiting from UK Government support schemes at the end of July

Download a template if you’re claiming for 100 or more employees through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Complete a template with the details of the employees you’re claiming for and upload this when you claim – details section updated to tell employers using the template that it may be rejected if the information provided is not given in the right format.

Changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) from 1?? September and what this means for you.

From 1?? September CJRS will pay 70% of usual wages up to a cap of £2,187.50 per month for the hours furloughed employees do not work.
You will still need to pay your furloughed employees at least 80% of their usual wages for the hours they do not work, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. You will need to fund the difference between this and the CJRS grant yourself.
The caps are proportional to the hours not worked. For example, if your employee is furloughed for half their usual hours in September, you are entitled to claim 70% of their usual wages for the hours they do not work up to £1,093.75 (50% of the £2,187.50 cap).
You will continue to have to pay furloughed employees’ National Insurance (NI) and pension contributions from your own funds.

Further guidance and live webinars offering you more support on changes to the scheme and how they impact you are available to book online – go to GOV?.UK and search ‘help and support if your business is affected by coronavirus’. You can find everything you’ll need to help make your claim on GOV?.UK, including a useful calculator and guidance on the data you need to provide and the format you need to use to ensure your claim is accepted. Search for ‘claim for wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’. If you’re claiming for 100 or more employees, please download and use our template as this will help you make sure your data is right – search ‘download a template if you’re claiming for 100 or more employees through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’ on GOV?.UK.
Make sure you have the latest information by joining the live webinar:
Choose a date and time

HEALTH CARE & WELLBEING:

COVID-19: laboratory evaluations of serological assays
PHE has undertaken a number of rapid evaluations of commercial serological assays for their suitability for detecting the production of COVID-19 antibodies – added Beckman Coulter Access Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay and supporting information for the PHE commercial serology assay evaluations.

PHE data series on deaths in people with COVID-19: technical summary
Summary of the PHE data series on deaths in people with COVID-19, outlining what the changes mean and how the data compare to other COVID-19 death data series.

Taking care of yourself, communities and business in Stockport:
Further information about coronavirus including how to self-isolate can be found at www.stockport.gov.uk/coronavirus
Public Health England action cards for reporting and managing an outbreak in a variety of settings are available. The action card requires you to notify Public Health England when you are informed of more than one confirmed case.
The Greater Manchester PHE team can be contacted via:
Email: Gmanchpu@phe.gov.uk; PHE.gmhpt@nhs.net
Telephone: 0344 225 0562 (option 3) Out of hours advice: 0151 434 4819
To report just one confirmed case, contact the Stockport Health Protection Team contact.tracing@stockport.gov.uk (hours: 09:00–17:00 Monday – Friday; out of hours calls can be directed to PHE North West 0151 434 4819), so we can support your organisation with early advice.

COVID-19: background information
Information on COVID-19 including epidemiology, virology and clinical features – updated global case numbers.

PPE deliveries (England): 17 August to 23 August 2020
Experimental statistics showing the latest number of personal protective equipment (PPE) items distributed for use by health and social care services in England.

HOSPITALITY / LEISURE:

Hospitality webinar
Watch the latest update webinar on the hospitality sector in Stockport here

Support for hospitality sector
If you would like any further advice regarding licensed premises, please contact: district.standards@stockport.gov.uk

JUDICIARY:

HMCTS weekly operational summary on courts and tribunals during coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
This page provides a weekly summary of the HM Courts and Tribunals Service operational position during the coronavirus pandemic. We will aim to update this every Friday at 5pm – update for week commencing Monday 24 August published. Rule changes regarding Writs of Possession have been made and are effective from today.

LOCAL AUTHORITY:

Local government income compensation scheme for lost sales, fees and charges
Guidance for local authorities on how to access the local government income compensation scheme for lost sales, fees and charges as a result of COVID-19.

PROPERTY:

UK Agency breaks tradition to hold first-ever August Auction sale
In another sign of the buoyant housing market, estate agency Savills is breaking tradition by staging its first ever August auction today. A series of surprisingly-strong indicators across the market – reflecting high numbers of buyers, more homes coming to sale, and strong performances at auctions in recent weeks – persuaded the agency to make an exception to its August ‘no auction’ policy. “Traditionally August is a quieter month with people not necessarily being around to buy or sell; however with less people going away this year we’re expecting this to present far less of an issue” explains Christopher Coleman-Smith, head of Savills Auctions team.

The Citizens Advice charity is calling for tenants with arrears directly created by the Coronavirus to be offered government grants to help them out of debt.
Dame Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, says this should be the principle goal of government in the four week breathing space created by the eviction ban U-turn announced on Friday. “We’re really pleased the government has stepped in to keep its promise that no renter will lose their home because of the Coronavirus pandemic – for now at least” she says.

RETAIL:

DFS trading “significantly ahead” of expectations as markets recover
Furniture retailer DFS has reported ‘strong’ trading for the period since its previous statement on July 14. The firm has issued a new trading update for the last six weeks, in which it saw year-on-year order intake growth equivalent to around £70m in revenue. DFS commented: “This trading is significantly ahead of our initial expectations and is in addition to our previously announced strong opening order book that will generate a further in year revenue benefit of c.£100m.”

TRAVEL:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for UK visa applicants and temporary UK residents
This is advice for visa customers and applicants in the UK, visa customers outside of the UK and British nationals overseas who need to apply for a passport affected by travel restrictions associated with coronavirus. Updated guidance on ‘Applying for a visa if your VAC is closed’.

Virgin Atlantic is to provide Covid-19 insurance cover for all passengers from now until next spring.
The insurance policy with Allianz Assistance offers comprehensive cover in the event a customer or travel companion becomes ill with Covid-19 while on a trip. It is applied automatically on each booking. Emergency medical costs, associated expenses such as transport and accommodation and repatriation up to £500,000 are included, as well as costs of up to £3,000 if a customer is denied boarding or held in quarantine.

Union urges tailored support to save 9,000 travel jobs
Following a survey of its members, Abta has estimated 90,000 travel jobs are at risk unless the government steps in. Manuel Cortes, TSSA general secretary, said:

“Our travel trade faces total wipe-out unless tailored, sector specific support is made available. Travel faces a unique perfect storm created by coronavirus …. The economic crisis borne from coronavirus is cementing the move away from High Street shopping. Sadly, without urgent government action, booking holidays in dedicated travel shops could become a thing of the past.”

Covid-19 webinars:

#TfNTalks: Business Priorities for the North of England

Friday 28th August | 3pm – 4pm

Join us for our next #TfNTalks discussion – a brand new #TfNTalks free webinar event, all about business priorities in the North! Register now to make sure you don’t miss the discussion! This session aims to bring together voices from across the North to understand what the priorities are for businesses. The current Covid-19 crisis has provided a new challenge, but how much will this impact on existing longer term priorities, and has it reshaped them in any way.

Full details for joining a Zoom call on desktop or mobile can be found here.

Help and support if your business is affected by coronavirus (COVID-19)

The YouTube video about how to participate in the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme has been amended and information about what has changed for parents – Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, has been added.

Government Webinar: Eat Out to Help Out scheme

View the webinar and find out more – Help and support if your business is affected by coronavirus (COVID-19)

Make your workplace COVID-secure:

You can find recordings of webinars covering other types of workplace here

HMRC:

Coronavirus COVID-19 Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme:
Providing an overview of the scheme, this webinar looks at who can claim, when to start paying SSP, employees you can claim for, making a claim, keeping records, and more. Choose a date and time

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – How to make a claim:
This guides you through making a claim, including the essential information you need, what to do before you make your claim, calculating and processing your claim.
Choose a date and time

If you’ve missed any of HMRC’s live webinars, you can catch up series of recorded webinars on HMRC’s YouTube channel – available at a time to suit you.

Twice weekly: EnterprisingYou

Finance support for the self-employed webinars For info about latest webinar date announcements please visit the website https://enterprising-you.co.uk/latest-news/

ACAS

A series of courses to help businesses with transition from lockdown

Useful information and links:

Stockport nominated in the Smart City category in the Digital Leaders awards.
Vote for Stockport HERE. Voting closes at 12 noon on Friday 28th August, with the winners announced on the 15th of October.

Get a discount with the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme
From 3 to 31 August, get a 50% discount when you eat in at restaurants that are registered with the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme.
The restaurant finder tool now shows results within a 5 mile radius of the postcode used.

Get a discount with the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme
From 3 to 31 August, get a 50% discount when you eat in at restaurants that are registered with the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme.

New opening times for Stockport Council Coronavirus Helpline
The helpline for vulnerable people across Stockport can now be accessed through new opening times by calling 0161 217 6046:
• Monday – Thursday from 9am to 5pm
• Friday from 9am to 4.30pm
• Saturdays from 10am to 1pm
At busy times, residents are automatically offered a call-back from one of our call handlers.

Coronavirus outbreak FAQs: what you can and can’t do
Frequently asked questions on what you can and can’t do during the coronavirus outbreak – guidance updated in line with new regulations coming into force on 4 July

Business Survey:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-coronavirus-impact-business-survey/dcms-business-survey-headline-measures

New tools and resources available from Acas:
Redundancy letter templates
Redundancy process map Acas have also contributed to the development of a new return to work toolkit in partnership with SOM, CIPD, BITC and Mind.

Applications Now Open for the Local Authority Discretion Fund. Businesses that had been eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support are also now eligible for the LA Discretionary Business Grant.

Apply for the coronavirus Future Fund
The Future Fund will provide UK Government loans to UK-based companies ranging from £125,000 to £5 million, subject to at least equal match funding from private investors.

Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme set to launch
Employers will be able to make claims through the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme from 26 May.

Stockport Council publishes details for Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund.

Stockport Council has confirmed its criteria in consideration of awarding the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund, announced as the grants Top-up fund by the Government on 1^st May.

Business Support in Stockport – a centre pool of information to support business owners in Stockport:
www.skbusinessrecovery.co.uk

Government – Guidance on Returning to Work safely
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19

Government – Setting out of Road Map to recovery – 11^th May 2020
Our plan to rebuild: The UK Government’s 60 page COVID-19 recovery strategy
The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy. The strategy sets out a cautious roadmap to easing existing measures in a safe and measured way, subject to successfully controlling the virus and being able to monitor and react to its spread.Stockport Council has launched a FREE job matching website to help support employers with vacancies and individuals across the Stockport borough who are looking for work. The service, Stockport Jobs Match, will help to connect employers who have urgent temporary or permanent vacancies with applicants who are immediately available and in need of employment. The website also helps signpost individuals to available support services and information.
www.stockport-jobsmatch.co.uk

Coronavirus Act 2020: status
A table setting out the status of each measure in the Coronavirus Act 2020.

Government – Financial Support
New 100% government backed loan scheme for small business

Stockport Council – Health & Mental Well-being https://www.stockport.gov.uk/showcase/coronavirus

Government – Financial Support
CBILS – A guide to whether it may be the best options for a business

Government – Financial Support
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – online claims portal open

Government – Business Support:
Government launches new coronavirus business support finder tool

Government – Business Support Hub:
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support

Government – IT safety support:
Government Warnings Over Coronavirus Scams – Here’s How to Protect Yourself

Government – Financial Support:
HMRC has published guidance on how it will work out income and profits for the self-employed or those in a partnership who have lost profits due to coronavirus.
Government – Business Support:
https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/

Government – Business Support: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19

Government – Financial Support: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding

Government – Business Support:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses

Bank of England – Financial Support: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2020/march/the-covid-corporate-financing-facility

Stockport Council Grant scheme:
https://www.stockport.gov.uk/business-rates-support-measures

Gov.uk: Maintaining Educational Provision: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

UK Lockdown – Further businesses to close and exceptions: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/874732/230320_-_Revised_guidance_note_-_finalVF

Business Growth Hub:
www.businessgrowthhub.com/coronavirus https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/coronavirus/resources/2020/03/coronavirus-business-support-webinar-series

Food & Drink – advice and guidance:
https://marketingstockport.co.uk/news/food-delivery-and-takeaway-guidance-for-food-businesses-looking-to-diversify/

Health – updates from NHS
https://www.england.nhs.uk/news/

Health– Shielding the most vulnerable
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

Health – Dedicated helpline to support vulnerable residents in Stockport:
Support can be accessed by calling 0161 217 6046 Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm.

Health – Dedicated health & wellbeing services:
24/7 mental health helpline & safe haven for anyone over the age of 18 in Stockport (0800 138 7276).

Health – An Emotional Wellbeing Hub which provides information, advice, and guidance for anyone up to the age of 25 for emotional wellbeing and mental health concerns. 0161 217 6028 – 8.30am-5pm Mon – Thurs 8.30am-4.30pm on Friday.

Health – the big white wall
The Big White Wall offers 24/7 anonymous support via a digital emotional wellbeing and mental health service, offering peer support for anyone over the age of 16, support from trained clinicians alongside a range of helpful tools and resources.

Media and Marketing:
Prolific North are publishing daily updates on their blog as to how Covid-19 is impacting on the marketing, media and technology industries

Travel:
https://media.northernrailway.co.uk/news/coronavirus-travel-information

Recruitment: – DWP and Universal Credit http://news.dwp.gov.uk/dwplz/lz.aspx?p1=MQsDU1NjQ5MlM2OTA0OjNCNDJBOEZCRTJDOUJEOTc1ODQ0RTRCRDNDNzk4QUNF-&CC=&p=0

Retail: An update form British Retail Consortium
https://brc.org.uk/news/corporate-affairs/coronavirus-latest-retailer-activity/

Employment: – Stockport Jobs Match

Community – Guidance for businesses seeking to help voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
How businesses can offer services, funds and volunteers to civil society during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Find out more information here.

Employment – Useful information for the Self-Employed:
News and Guidance for the self-employed:
Concerned how Coronavirus might impact you and your business?
Please get in touch with Enterprising You and you will be connected to someone who can help. You can also access information and guidance including the latest Government updates via www.businessgrowthhub.com/coronavirus

Can you claim back Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay in the Rebate Scheme
From Tuesday 26 May 2020, small and medium-sized employers, with fewer than 250 employees, will be able to apply to recover the costs of paying coronavirus-related Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) payments they have made to their employees.

August 25th – Coronavirus News Updates

Latest UK data:

UK HEADLINES:

LOCAL / REGIONAL NEWS & UPDATES: