News - Page 131

Brio has continued to deliver activities permitted by Government guidance, whilst also reviewing its whole operating model with the Council and looks back at the challenges posed by 2020.

CityFibre, the UK’s third digital infrastructure platform, has jointly announced a collaborative partnership with leading wholesale-only network provider Virtual1, which is geared toward serving the UK connectivity channel with full fibre business services.

Alex Salmond clashes with Scottish government over sexual harassment investigations. Meanwhile, Kindred CEO Sophie Pilgrim urges the Scottish government to prioritise vaccination for parents that provide medical care for their children.

Since the UKs new relationship with the European Union took effect on January 1st it seems that there have been continuous issues for the Scottish fishing and shellfish industries. The government has now announced that a new taskforce will meet for the first time next week and will be headed up by the UK Minister for Scotland David Diguid MP.

Cloud unified communications specialist Telavox has announced an exciting new partnership with Surrey-based Amalfi Technologies.

Writing for The Leaders Council, director Inga Neaves reflects on the use of exams as a standard measure of a student’s ability, and how the Covid-19 pandemic presents UK leaders with an opportunity to make radical changes and re-evaluate the fundamental systems and institutions for the benefit of future generations.

The past week has seen leaders across the world juggling problems at home and abroad. We hear what a selection that have been in the news have to say.

Established early last year, the new Joint Unit for Waste Crime [JUWC] has hailed a successful first year of operations cracking down on illegal waste activity, while one foodservice contractor has brought its own zero waste solution to the UK market as part of its mission to help the planet.

SMEs are to be aided in paying back loans that have been state-backed in a bid to ease the pressures on business owners that are still operating under current restrictions.

The Confederation of British Industry [CBI] has called on the government to work with businesses to publish a roadmap out of the latest Covid-19 lockdown in England.

As pubs and restaurants across the country are still closed under strict lockdown measures, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) have today released the quantity of beer that has been thrown away across the sector. Up to 87 million pints of beer have gone to waste and at an average price of £3.81 in a pub that totals £331 million in lost revenue that the sector has been forced to destroy as the third national lockdown continues.

Energy minister Anne-Marie Trevalyan has announced £11 million in government funding for the latest round of the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund (EEF). The hope is that this will help talented energy entrepreneurs turn their ideas into real products and services. But Matthew Fleming-Duffy, director of Cherry Mortgage and Finance, has warned that good intent does not always lead to tangible action.

According to a survey of businesses attending the virtual Kent and Medway Business Summit, locally based firms are looking to the future with confidence despite the double-pronged impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.

With the current extension of the furlough scheme set to end in April 2021 and with ‘no clear roadmap’ yet released for businesses to start trading at full capacity. The British Chamber of Commerce and TUC have urged the treasury to announce another extension to the scheme.