Rishi Sunak has announced further support for people and businesses impacted by local lockdowns. Speaking to the House of Commons today, the Chancellor said he would help “open but struggling businesses” operating in areas under tier 1 and 2 coronavirus restrictions, and pledged to increase the government’s financial support to employers forced to close in tier 3 areas.
He extended the Jobs Support Scheme to include businesses which can open but have witnessed a fall in demand, by lowering the required hours employees have to work to qualify for the support down from 33 per cent of normal hours to 20 per cent. He also revealed a dramatic cut in the level of employer contributions under the scheme. Businesses are now expected to cover just 5 per cent of employee hours not worked, rather than the 33 per cent initially announced last month. The support scheme will apply to eligible businesses in all tier levels.
Luke Davis, CEO and Founder of SME investment specialists, IW Capital, has commented on the announcement:
“This package announced today could be the lifeline that many small businesses have been calling out for, helping them keep on staff and keep operating during the new restrictions. Businesses have been incredibly resilient and small business owners, in particular, should be praised for the work they have done over the course of the year.
Small businesses represent 99% of the UK economy and employ over 60% of the working population, so this support is crucial to the continued success and the overall health of the UK economy. For those that are not only looking to stay afloat but grow, private investment into SMEs remains strong, at IW Capital, have seen a marked increase in the amount invested into high-growth SMEs during the Coronavirus pandemic.”
For more information visit iwcapital.co.uk
For more Leadership & Business news follow i-invest Online.
- AI is not the disruption. Your operating model is
The five per cent of organisations capturing value from AI are not deploying tools faster – they are redesigning how work gets done, says Stuart J. Green A chief executive showed me her board pack: five AI pilots and a 12% margin target by 2026. I asked which pilots she had been inside, which workflows… Read more: AI is not the disruption. Your operating model is - AI is not one technology – and leaders should stop treating it that way
To prepare effectively for the future, Mehdi Paryavi argues that businesses should stop viewing AI as a single phenomenon and start focusing on agentic AI as distinct from today’s generative tools Reports about the AI boom are now your quotidian fare. You can easily find analysts proclaiming, “X percent of companies are now using AI,”… Read more: AI is not one technology – and leaders should stop treating it that way - Why the best sustainability investments don’t depend on customers caring
Consumer belief is the riskiest asset on the balance sheet, argue Goutam Challagalla and Frédéric Dalsace. The real question is whether customers would buy it anyway For more than a decade, ESG-linked funds and corporate sustainability strategies have run on the same quiet assumption: spend more on sustainability, and the market will eventually reward you… Read more: Why the best sustainability investments don’t depend on customers caring - Progress on environment stalls as pressure to deliver immediate returns mounts
New research reveals how a growing focus on short-term financial performance is delaying investment in sustainability and transition planning, potentially exposing organisations to greater long-term costs and operational risks A new analysis of 52 leading AEX and DAX-listed companies by Erasmus University Rotterdam, Nyenrode Business University, and ftrprf highlights the growing gap between financial performance… Read more: Progress on environment stalls as pressure to deliver immediate returns mounts - Why promising social ventures fail – and the solution emerging to prevent this
Misunderstandings between investors and founders are damaging social innovation, research suggests – but a new tool aims to build stronger bridges between them Social innovation ventures commonly collapse because of misunderstandings and miscommunications between venture leads and impact investors, new research from Durham University Business School reveals. As a result, promising projects which can address… Read more: Why promising social ventures fail – and the solution emerging to prevent this