Responding to the Scottish Government’s announcement that Glasgow will remain at Level 3 until at least the 5th of June pending a review on the 2nd of June, Dr Liz Cameron OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“There were many anxious businesses across Scotland waiting to hear the decision of the First Minister today, with Glasgow’s consumer reach extending across Scotland with thousands of day visitors and tourists. The impact of this extended closure will be even more devastating for crisis hit businesses in Glasgow, as many were looking forward to opening their doors to take advantage of the upcoming bank holiday on Monday.
“We need government at both Holyrood and Westminster to now step in to provide a level of meaningful financial support if we are to save jobs and livelihoods.
“The Scottish Government’s expanded test and protect, supported by an accelerated vaccination programme, needs to continue. One glimmer of hope is that we seem to be going in the right direction as far as the health harms are concerned but the economic harms are just as critical. We hope that the review promised next week will bring a decision to enable Glasgow to move down into Level 2, allowing businesses to plan ahead and fully welcome consumers and tourists back.”
Responding to the Scottish Government’s update on lockdown levels for East Renfrewshire, Glasgow & Moray, Dr Liz Cameron OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Today’s announcement will bring a mixture of relief and anxiety. Whilst more businesses in Moray will now be able to open from midnight tonight and East Renfrewshire businesses will not have to close again, Glasgow businesses remain under strict trading and travel restrictions.
“The business community in Glasgow were handed a hammer blow last week and are deeply disappointed and disillusioned that more businesses could now reach crisis point as a result of these extended restrictions. The absolute priority must be to focus on managing these local outbreaks quickly to enable Scotland’s most populated city to open up, in line with the rest of the country.
“Businesses have invested heavily in COVID safe measures and equipment and want a fair opportunity to trade. They have created safe environments and need time to plan and rebuild confidence. To support restart efforts, we urge the Scottish Government to accelerate and expand the vaccination programme to as many people as possible, particularly in hotspot areas.
“The Scottish Government must ensure that adequate and targeted financial compensation is provided quickly. We also urge the UK Government to accept these outbreaks as special cases and be flexible with furlough criteria for businesses who have recruited new staff or have brought back their employees, they should be able to use the furlough scheme to protect jobs.”
On travel restrictions being imposed between Scotland and the three local authorities of Bedford, Bolton and Blackburn & Darwen in England, Liz Cameron said:
“We would continue to urge a 4-nations approach in containing outbreaks. If the evidence shows that restricting travel to local authority areas in the rest of the UK will suppress the virus spread, then we would expect to see restrictions removed as quickly as possible once the data allows.”
Responding to the confirmation of the new Scottish Government Cabinet, Dr Liz Cameron OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Congratulations to all new and returning Cabinet Ministers. Their appointments come at a critical juncture for Scottish business and the economy. As we ease out of restrictions and towards recovery, we need entrepreneurial and dynamic leadership from our politicians and constructive collaboration with the private sector to drive business growth and job creation.
“We wish all of the cabinet members well in their new roles and look forward to working with them to restart and grow Scottish business.”
The May Executive Magazine is out now!
You can read it online, this month includes our usual quarterly Caithness Chamber Newsletter.
Read the full magazine here and see the Caithness Chamber Newsletter from page 23.
The Newsletter includes updates from;
- Above and Beyond Tours
- John O’Groats Development Trust
- Dunnet Bay Distillers
- Scrabster Harbour Trust
- BBM Solicitors
- Superclean
- Morson Projects
- Norbloc Construction
- Fibre 1
- North Point Distillery
Reading through the magazine, you’ll spot even more members! Andrew Mackay from the Caithness Collection & Mackays Hotel, Wick discuss Staycations being a saviour for the hospitality industry and Sharon Wooller from Dava Dawn explains more about Health and Safety in our businesses.
Editorial inclusion in the quarterly Chamber Newsletter within Executive Magazine is free of charge while members also receive exclusive discounts on advertising within the magazine. To discuss including your next good news story or advert, please just get in touch. info@caithnesschamber.com
Sign up to have future Executive Magazines sent directly to your inbox using this link.
Responding to the Scottish Government’s latest COVID-19 announcement, Dr Liz Cameron OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“For businesses in Scotland’s events and leisure sectors, this has been a very long wait. With the go-ahead to re-open on 17th May, more businesses can now re-open with certainty and safely welcome back customers.
“To fully support these sectors to make up for a year of lost trade, we need remaining sectors that remain gridlocked in uncertainty to be re-opened as quickly as possible. Specifically, we need to see the Scottish Government pick up the pace on the re-opening of offices in our towns and city centres. This would not only support the health and wellbeing of our employees but would also support the recovery and restart of our vibrant cities and towns.”
A warm welcome to an amazing four new members this month and a new Premier Partner!
Specialist security consultancy, providing bespoke security services and security audits across the public and private sector.
Services:
- Total Security management, specialising in regulatory compliance.
- Strategic Command & Control for Site Emergency Response Management
- Nuclear Policing/Security/Safety Leadership
- Concept/Design and application of PPS Models
Ferry View is a small, friendly, family run, eco campsite in the far north of Scotland. Open all year & just 7 miles from John O’Groats, the site is just off the A836 at Gills Bay, between Thurso and John O’Groats.
Ferry View is ideally located on the North Coast 500 route for exploring the big skies of Caithness and less than a mile from the Gills Bay Ferry for exploring the Orkney Islands. Located on the A836 between Wick and Thurso, Castle of Mey is a short distance away.
Open all year, hardstanding and grass pitches are available.
Langley Properties provide high quality professional serviced accommodation, that is friendly and kind to the environment.
The business aim is to ensure when people are working away from home, they do not have to compromise on quality and home comforts.
Immaculately clean, crisp white sheets, comfy mattresses, fluffy towels, smart TV, fast broadband, fitted well equipped kitchen, as standard. Rainfall showers and a bath to relax at the end of the day.
Great locations, self service check it, shops nearby, parking along with great communication and being at hand to help to ensure that your stay is hassle free.
- Accommodation
- Gunn’s Terrace, Wick
- Fisherman’s Cottage, Wick
- Langley Cottage, Wick
- Langley Apartment, Inverness City Centre
View more details of each property here.
Seymour Talent are a specialist engineering recruitment consultancy with a decade of experience to offer.
Passionate about recruitment done well, we enjoy connecting people with opportunity and we want your business to be successful. That means having the right people in the right place at the right time. If we can help you achieve that and make the recruitment process not just painless but enjoyable, then that is a successful day in the office!
We start by getting to know you and your business, making sure we are equipped to promote your company and your employer proposition. From there we will leave no stone unturned to find and secure the people you need.
Used to recruiting for niche skills and hard to fill roles in a variety of locations we are experienced in supporting candidate relocation. Based within Caithness we are well placed to both network with candidates locally and to promote the area to potential relocators.
We specialise in supporting roles within the Product Development, Manufacturing and Engineering Services Industries. Skillsets we recruit for include:
- Research & Design
- Testing & Development
- Manufacturing, Production & Assembly
- Maintenance & Field Service
- Installation & Commissioning
- Project and Programme Management
- Site & Operations management
- Quality & Regulatory Affairs
- Health, Safety & Environmental
- Technical Sales
Alongside recruiting for experienced engineers, we also recruit for Engineering managers dedicated to the management of people, projects, and processes within these areas.
We’re thrilled to have another Premier Partner join Caithness Chamber of Commerce! Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd have been members for many years and have recently upgraded their membership to Silver Premier Partner.
Premier Partners are important to the work of the Chamber and we provide the opportunity to raise your business profile and widen your engagement with the community. We work closely with each Premier Partner to ensure optimum exposure and an enhanced commercial profile for your company. This demonstrates your contribution to Caithness and your association with a business organisation dedicated to working on its members’ behalf and helping to create a vibrant Caithness economy that is successful, sustainable and diverse.
Read more about Premier Partnerships on our website.
To learn about how Chamber membership could benefit your business, see the Membership benefits page or get in touch with Fiona Levack, Business Development Manager to arrange an informal chat. You can email fiona here: Fiona@caithnesschamber.com The Chamber offers advice and support to businesses of all sizes, at all stages and in all sectors and we would be thrilled to hear from you.
In addition to chamber membership, many of our funded projects offer support and guidance to businesses in a range of ways. See the list of options, here.
Did you know that we offer a membership referral scheme? If you refer a business who joins the chamber, you could benefit from £50 off your next renewal. Read more here.
Caithness Chamber of Commerce was pleased to host a virtual hustings on 21 April to give its members the chance to hear from and ask questions of the candidates standing for the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency in the Scottish Parliamentary elections.
Representatives of local businesses across a wide range of sectors were present for the event, where they heard from candidates as to how they would best support the business community of the North Highlands if elected.
Attendees also had the chance to ask questions of the candidates and these covered a wide range of business issues, from the impact of Brexit on the fishing industry to how best to reduce the tax burden on modern, technology-oriented businesses.
Trudy Morris, Chief Executive of Caithness Chamber of Commerce, said:
“We were delighted that the candidates were able to take time out of their busy schedules to attend and hear direct from our members on the issues that matter to them. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a real impact on businesses across the North Highlands and it is so important that politicians from all parties understand and act to address these.
“Businesses are at the heart of our communities, providing vital jobs and services and keeping our economy going. As we see the easing of restrictions and the gradual reopening of our economy, it is vital that businesses get the support they need and have strong support from their political representatives.
“The North Highlands faces a unique set of challenges and opportunities in the coming years. To ensure that businesses can face up to these, we will need strong and sustained investment in our transport and digital infrastructure, a tax system that does not penalise investment and growth, and a broad understanding amongst policymakers of the impact their decisions might have on rural economies.
“This election is amongst the most important Scotland has ever seen, and the decisions made by the next Scottish Government will have potentially huge ramifications for the Scottish economy. We would encourage candidates and leaders from all parties to read the Scottish Chambers Network’s Rally for Growth manifesto and to engage with their local business communities in the runup to voting day.”
Responding to the Scottish Government’s latest COVID-19 announcement, Dr Liz Cameron OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Today’s confirmation that more businesses can finally open their doors to begin trading again is great news. We have been waiting a long time to finally welcome our customers back. We must remember there are many other businesses who have not yet been allowed to re-open – all government efforts and resources must be utilised to support and provide effective compensation if they are to survive.
“As we get closer to April 26th, there are still many outstanding concerns from business owners. Without any warning, the Scottish Government have decided to introduce additional constraints without any proven scientific evidence of the need. The previous guidance clearly stated we were able to operate with a 1 metre distance in hospitality settings, with additional mitigations in place, such as track and trace. The possible introduction of new measures such as the theoretical, untested, mathematical formula which small businesses are being asked to implement before re-opening, possibly reducing their capacity even further, is simply bizarre. That is what businesses are being asked to do now and this will increase our costs and reduce trading opportunities.
“We hope the First Minister will listen carefully to business concerns and look again at the detail and data that is driving such measures and request a rethink for the sake of our economy, jobs and health.
“There is hope from today’s announcement. But to translate hope into reality, the business community needs the Scottish Government to empower businesses to re-open with sensible guidelines that enable us to get back on our feet.”
Caithness Chamber of Commerce is calling for the relationship between businesses and politicians to be reset in a policy document issued ahead of the Holyrood election.
Caithness Chamber said Scottish Parliamentarians need to understand and support the value and importance of business in their policy programmes, in a paper entitled “Rally for Growth”, a business-led action plan issued ahead of the Scottish parliament elections next month.
The report is aimed at offering potential parliamentarians a blueprint for economic recovery in the wake of the damage caused by the coronavirus, impacts of leaving the European Union, and a legacy of a slow growth in Scotland.
The Rally for Growth Action Plan calls for:
- Scottish Ministers to pass a Business Growth Act within the first 100 days of the government, encompassing the most urgent issues facing businesses right now, including: reducing upfront business costs; boosting international trade; upskilling, and reskilling the workforce; major digital and infrastructure investment; business mobilisation on COP26, faster action and increased investment around renewable energies; redesigning our Cities.
- The establishment of a new “Joint Economic Partnership” that would oversee an ambitious program of pro-enterprise, pro-growth policies to boost business growth and job creation, bringing together ministers, the Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisers and the heads of Scottish business groups such as the Chambers of Commerce.
Trudy Morris, Chief Executive of the Caithness Chamber of Commerce, said:
“Our wide-ranging Rally for Growth Action Plan is the ‘manifesto’ of the business community to forge a new, closer, more effective alliance between Scottish businesses and the next Scottish Parliament. We hope our plan will provide a comprehensive yet practical set of ideas that will be fundamental to ensuring that our economy bounces back and is ready to grasp new trading opportunities here and abroad. The pace of Government action must be accelerated considerably.
“The Scottish people need commerce and government to align if we are to tackle the big challenges ahead. In this most critical moment, it is vital that Scottish Ministers and business leaders are talking the same language and recognising the need to balance long-term strategies for growth alongside concrete action in the here and now, to ensure we retain as many businesses as possible whilst creating new jobs.”
Download the Rally for Growth document here.