THIS WEEK'S NEWS

NEWS DIGEST

POST OFFICE

POST OFFICE TO TOP-UP JUNE PAY FOR POSTMASTERS

POSTMASTERS WILL RECEIVE A 15% TOP-UP OF THEIR VARIABLEREMUNERATION IN JUNE FROM THE POST OFFICE.

The Post Office has announced that it will add a 15% top-up to the variable remuneration received by postmasters in June. They had previously guaranteed independent postmasters 100% of their remuneration in April and 90% in May. The guarantee covered both fixed and variable remuneration. The rate of remuneration reflects previously announced increases that came into effect on 1 April. All branches that are currently receiving fixed remuneration will continue to do so in June.

RATES REVALUATION POSTPONED

The revaluation of businessrates in England planned for2021 will no longer take placeas the UK Government aimsto help reduce uncertaintyfor businesses affected bycoronavirus. NFRN PresidentStuart Reddish said that “thebusiness rates system isbroken and continues to doenormous damage to retailers.”

COVID-19

FURLOUGH EXTENDED TO OCTOBER – BUT COMPANIES TO ‘SHARE’ COST

CHANCELLOR RISHI SUNAK HAS EXTENDED THE FURLOUGHSCHEME FOR WORKERS ON LEAVE FOR AN ADDITIONAL TWOMONTHS, BUT EXPECTS TO START SHARING THE COSTS FROMAUGUST.

The UK furlough scheme to pay wages of workers on leave because of coronavirus is being extended to October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced yesterday. But he added that the government will ask companies to “start sharing” the cost of the scheme from August onwards.

The scheme pays affected employees 80% of their monthly wages up to £2,500.

Around 7.5 million workers are now covered by the scheme, up from 6.3 million last week.

From August, the furlough scheme will continue for all sectors and regions of the country but with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work.

Employers currently using the scheme will be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time.

£621M IN GRANTS PAID SO FAR IN SCOTLAND

As of last Tuesday, some £621m in grants have been awarded in Scotland, according to reports from the country’s Local Authorities.

Over 71,000 applications had been received for the Small Business Grant Scheme and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Grant Scheme across Scotland. Of these, 53,765 had been awarded.

The total number of reported applications fell between 28 April and 5 May, although this is largely due to an improvement in reporting, with double counting significantly reduced now.

This grant support is worth over £1bn to business and is part of a wider business support package worth over £2.2bn.

David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “These grants provide urgently needed support for retailers operating smaller premises and who are trying to weather the current crisis, particularly those with shops currently in hibernation.

GROCERYAID £1.5M FUND

Industry charity GroceryAidhas launched a £1.5mCovid-19 fund to supportgrocery colleagues as theglobal pandemic continues.The fund will provide emotionaland fi nancial support.

NFRN FUND SWELLS

JPI Media, Just EmploymentLaw and Warburton’s are thelatest companies to back theNFRN’s Covid-19 HardshipFund. Since the fund’s launchlast month, nearly £32,000 hasbeen paid out to cash-strappedmembers. Members can applyfor a grant via the NFRNwebsite.

RENT SUPPORT CALL

Helen Dickinson, ChiefExecutive of the British RetailConsortium, has urged theGovernment to support rentsfor retail properties in the wakeof a new Vacancy Monitorwhich revealed a consistentincrease in the number ofstores lying empty.

LOCKDOWN EASED IN ENGLAND; AS YOU WERE IN SCOTLAND

PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON UNVEILS AN EASING OF LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS IN ENGLAND WHILE FIRST MINISTER NICOLA STURGEON HOLDS HER LINE IN SCOTLAND.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled a slight easing of lockdown restrictions in England which will allow an increased number of people to return to work as well as granting more scope for people to venture outdoors.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has insisted that the situation north of the border remains more or less as it was with only a slight relaxation in exercising rules.

While Johnson did loosen the guidelines, he urged people to avoid public transport and to keep to social distancing advice.

Garden centres can now reopen and sports that are physically distanced – such as golf – are now permitted.

Two people from different households can now meet outdoors as long as they stay more than 2m apart.

SCOTTISH CORONAVIRUS DEATH TOLL FALLS FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE WEEK

The number of people who have died from coronavirus in Scotland has fallen for the second week in a row.

The National Records of Scotland showed that 415 deaths have been linked to the virus in the past week. This figure is 110 fewer than the previous week.

The total number of deaths in Scotland linked to Covid-19 now stands at 3,213. Of these, 91% of the people who died with the virus in April had an underlying health condition.

The figures also suggested, however, that people living in the most deprived areas are more than twice as likely to die than those in the least deprived.

More than half of all virus-related deaths are in care homes, but the percentage has fallen from 60% to 57% and the number of deaths from 314 to 238.

BREWER HELPS FEED KIDS

Scottish brewer Innis &Gunn has announced a sixfigure charity partnershipwith Meals & More to end‘Holiday Hunger’, wherechildren struggle to get foodto eat when they are not inschool. As many as 350,000have not eaten enough sinceCovid-19 restrictions came intoforce according to the latestresearch.

RETAILER HITS 1,000 DELIVERIES

South Yorkshire Nisa retailerChris Taylor has just made thestore’s 1,000th delivery sincethe start of the coronaviruspandemic. The store currentlyopens only in the afternoonwith mornings reserved for restockingand picking orders fordelivery.

NHS STAFF QUIT

VPZ, the UK’s largest vaping retailer, has published data showing that more NHS staff are quitting smoking than ever before. In the last month alone, over 1,100 NHS staff have used the campaign discount scheme to access products to help them stamp out cigarettes for good.

SWA CALLS ON MSPS TO HALT DRS

WHOLESALE TRADE BOY URGES MSPS TO HALT DEPOSIT RETURNSCHEME AS INDUSTRY STRUGGLES DURING CORONAVIRUS CRISIS.

The Scottish Wholesale Association (SWA) has urged MSPs to halt the Scottish Government’s deposit return scheme (DRS) ahead of the final Holyrood vote on the draft regulations today.

While SWA welcomed the announcement that the Scottish Government had postponed the “go live” date from April 2021 to July 2022, it has reiterated concerns over the negative impact DRS will have on its members, many of whom are already struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

Colin Smith, SWA Chief Executive of the SWA, said: “Wholesalers and our partners in retail, tourism and hospitality represent some of the sectors most badly impacted by Covid-19 – SWA has members who have lost 80% of their trade overnight while receiving no Government assistance two months into this crisis.

“We are urging MSPs to support their local businesses and halt the DRS regulations at this time, taking unnecessary pressure off our members and their customers. The regulations can then be revisited when we have a better understanding of the ‘new normal’.”

PAYPOINT SCRAPS FEE INCREASES

PayPoint is scrapping this year’s planned inflation increase to service fees for retailers in a bid to help ease monthly cashflows during coronavirus.

Fees instead will remain at 2019 levels and PayPoint is also moving permanently to billing the service fee in arrears with an option for retailers forced to close their stores to claim a service fee refund while they are closed.

QUEUE- BUSTING CHATBOT

Lidl Ireland has unveiled a novel approach to help shoppers ensure that they avoid long queues when visiting the discounter during the coronavirus outbreak. A new WhatsApp chatbot helps customers in real-time ensure they visit stores during the quietest periods. They simply message with the day and time they plan to shop and the chatbot advises on how busy the store is likely to be.

The service is driven by shopper behaviour analysis by the German discounter to offer advice on the best times to shop to avoid queuing outside.