Following the Chancellor’s Statement in Parliament yesterday, I have provided an update on the key aspects of the statement relevant to Northern Ireland.
Many people are struggling with the consequences of COVID-19, both financially and personally. I have included information on a New Money Navigator Tool from the Money Advice Service and a FREE Workplace Health & Wellbeing Service funded by the Public Health Agency.
At this time of year our young people are planning their future careers. There is some useful information below on the successful SRC Science Apprenticeship Talent Pool.
The SRC are also asking local businesses to complete a short skills survey to ensure the provision at SRC meets the needs of businesses and individuals as we work together as a business community to rebuild and reboot our local economy.
If you are a keen golfer, you will be interested in this year’s Chamber Golf Classic at Warrenpoint Golf Club on Fri 28th Aug sponsored by Matt D’Arcy’s Irish Whiskey.
This popular golf event is sure to book up quickly, so early booking is advised.
Information on how to book your tee time is included at the bottom of this update.
Finally, the holiday season is underway. If you’re getting a break this year, I hope you enjoy it and remember to support our local hospitality, tourism & retail businesses.
I hope you find these updates of value. If you have any queries which you can’t get answered, let us know. If I can, I will cover them in our next update.
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You can contact me at:
colm@newrychamber.com
Colm Shannon,
Chief Executive Officer
Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade
SUMMARY OF THE CHANCELLOR’S ‘PLAN FOR JOBS’
The Chancellor delivered his Summer Economic Update yesterday in Parliament, which outlined a package of measures in Northern Ireland and across the UK.
KEY POINTS TO NOTE:
Additional Allocations:
The Summer Economic Update confirms almost £300 million additional COVID-19 funding for the NI Executive through the Barnett formula. In total, the government is providing £1.6 billion through the Barnett formula to the NI Executive for COVID-19.
Job Retention Bonus:
To help firms keep on furloughed workers, UK Employers will receive a one-off bonus of £1,000 for each furloughed employee who is still employed as of 31st Jan 2021.
Decarbonising Public Sector Buildings:
The government will invest £1 billion over the next year in a Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme that will offer grants to public sector bodies, including schools and hospitals, to fund both energy efficiency and low carbon heat upgrades.
Eat Out To Help Out:
To encourage people to safely return to eating out at restaurants the government’s new discount scheme will provide a 50% reduction for sit-down meals in cafés, restaurants and pubs across the UK from Monday to Wednesday every week throughout Aug 2020.
VAT:
The rate of VAT applied on most tourism and hospitality-related activities will be cut from 20% to 5%.
Stamp Duty:
A temporary increase to the Nil Rate Band of Residential SDLT (Stamp Duty) from £125,000 to £500,000 has been introduced until 31st March 2021.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
NEW ONLINE TOOL LAUNCHED TO HELP PEOPLE NAVIGATE FINANCES
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has launched a new online tool to help people navigate their finances in the wake of COVID-19 and avoid financial issues worsening in future, as the organisation reveals over 1 million people have already looked to MaPS for help dealing with the financial impact of the pandemic.
The Money Navigator Tool, available on the Money Advice Service Website, asks people a short series of questions about their financial situation, before providing guidance which is personalised according to their needs. It will highlight areas where they should consider taking action most urgently to avoid money problems later on.
Money Navigator is designed to help people who have seen their finances impacted by COVID-19. This includes people dealing with complex financial situations who may find it difficult to know where to start, such as those facing redundancy or job loss, the self-employed whose work has dried up and people who have had a temporary income drop who need help to get back on track.
The tool will also help people who are looking for support in a specific area, as well as those who might be in a better financial position due to COVID-19 and want to know what to do with any savings they may have built up.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
NI CHEST HEART & STROKE WELL TEAM PROGRAMME
Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke’s (NICHS) Well Team Programme is a FREE Workplace Health & Wellbeing Service funded by the Public Health Agency (PHA).
At a time of uncertainty and period of change for many employees, employers are being encouraging to sign up to the Well Team Programme.
Well Team has been fully adapted to meet the needs of workplaces and their employees at this time and is fully operational in line with current government advice.
Participating Workplaces Will Receive The Following Support:
- An opportunity to complete an employee workplace health & wellbeing survey to determine employee health priorities.
- A comprehensive report outlining the health of employees and assistance with the development and implementation of a 3-year workplace health and wellbeing action plan.
- Health Champion Training for employees within your workplace to drive forward health and wellbeing initiatives.
- Access to further workplace health training including Mental Health First Aid and networking opportunities for Health Champions.
- Access to 3 Well Talks or Webinars for employees.
- Provision of resources for health and wellbeing initiatives.
- Ongoing support from the NICHS workplace health and wellbeing team.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
SRC SCIENCE APPRENTICESHIP TALENT POOL
For the last 6 years Southern Regional College (SRC) has successfully recruited and trained laboratory staff in conjunction with Norbrook, Randox and Almac through the Higher Level Apprenticeship (HLA) programme to fulfil the current industry skills gap in Northern Ireland at Level 5.
The HLA applicants will work towards the UU Foundation Degree in Applied Industrial Science with SRC for 2 years, following either the Life or Chemical Science pathway.
On completion, the apprentice has the option to progress to the Level 6 HLA BSc Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences. Both HLA levels are currently funded by the Department for the Economy, providing an “earn while you learn” opportunity.
If you would like further information or to register to view the applicant pool for September 2020 intake, please follow the link below and tick the Science option.
If you want information on other areas, please feel free to tick them also.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
SRC SKILLS SURVEY FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES
Southern Regional College (SRC) is committed to assisting our local businesses and wider community to navigate through economic recovery in the post-COVID world.
SRC appreciate that businesses face many challenges in the months ahead and they want to support our local industries in any way they can.
We would ask that you spare 5 minutes to complete this short skills survey to ensure the provision at SRC meets the needs of businesses and individuals as we work together to rebuild and reboot our local economy.
From the responses received, SRC will endeavor to try to meet those needs through a range of funded support measures.
All responses will be anonymous and will be kept confidential.
CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE SKILLS SURVEY.
NEWRY CHAMBER GOLF CLASSIC 2020
Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade is set to tee off with this year’s Golf Classic kindly sponsored by Matt D’Arcy’s Irish Whiskey on Friday 28th August 2020 in Warrenpoint Golf Club, with tee times available between 11:30am – 3:30pm.
A range of attractive individual and team prizes are on offer, as well as prizes for the ‘Nearest to the Pin’ and ‘Longest Drive’ competitions.
Your business can also avail of hole advertising at a cost of £100.00 + VAT by getting in touch with us. This is a great opportunity to reward your staff or entertain your clients with a round of golf.
The Chamber’s Golf Classic is always a sold out event and we expect demand to be particularly high this year so please book early.
In line with social distancing guidelines, there will be no shotgun start this year and instead, the tee is reserved between 11:30am – 3:30pm.
Four balls will eat at the end of their individual rounds.
It is sure to an enjoyable day so please book your preferred tee slot below.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FOUR BALL TEE TIME.