Summer Statement – July 2020
Yesterday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak MP presented a Summer Statement titled A plan for jobs. The Chancellor made a number of policy announcements including:
| • | Job Retention Bonus – a one-off payment of £1,000 to UK employers for every furloughed employee who remains continuously employed through to the end of January 2021. |
| • | Kickstart Scheme – £2 billion fund to pay for six-month work placements for 16 to 24-year-olds on universal credit. |
| • | Temporary VAT cut for restaurants, hotels and attractions – From 15 July 2020 to 12 January 2021, the reduced (5%) rate of VAT will apply to restaurants, hotels and attractions across the UK. |
| • | ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ voucher – Every diner is entitled to 50% discount up to £10 a head, from Monday to Wednesday for the entire month of August 2020 across the UK. |
| • | Green Homes Grant – providing grants of up to £5,000 per household to make their home more energy efficient in England. |
The BCC policy team has prepared resources to support you and your members including:
| • | Summer Statement policy grid – outlining details of key measures announced. |
| • | BCC press release on the Summer Statement for sharing on Twitter and LinkedIn. |
We welcome the intent behind many of these measures, particularly those, such as on youth unemployment, which respond to our ‘asks’, but we believe further stimulus will be needed to avoid seriously negative economic repercussions. If you have any queries on the Summer Statement, please contact Suren Thiru.
Test and Trace: Keeping a record of staff, customers and visitors
The opening up of the UK economy following the Coronavirus outbreak is being supported by NHS Test and Trace. Organisations in certain sectors should assist this service by keeping a temporary record of customers and visitors for 21 days. This guidance applies to England, see and share guidance for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This privacy notice describes how the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will process personal data from venues and establishments to support contact tracing. Please share with your members in England and see publications for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Staying COVID-19 Secure in 2020: notice
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published a notice for businesses in England to display, once a risk assessment has been carried out, to show compliance with the guidance on managing the risk of Coronavirus. This has been updated to reflect the change in the 2m social distancing rule. Download the notice and share with your members in England.
OTHER NEWS
Chamber communication channels – update
See the summary chart of Chamber communication channels below which explains the different ways that UK and International Chamber teams can communicate with BCC and each other. The contact for each channel is listed for any queries or feedback. UK CEOs should note that there is a new email distribution list for UK Chamber CEOs to contact each other chambersceo@britishchambers.org.uk.
| CHANNEL | NAME | PURPOSE | CONTACT |
| UK Chamber CEOs | Instant information sharing and collaboration between UK Chamber CEOs. | Leona Murphy | |
| BCC → Chamber CEOs | BCC broadcast only. To allow the BCC to share instant and confidential updates with UK CEOs. | Leona Murphy | |
| UK Chamber CEO email | NEW Email distribution list (with hidden email addresses) for UK Chamber CEOs to contact each other while looping in BCC Executive team. | Marlyn Hope | |
| BCC regular update emails | BCC updates to UK and International Chambers with recent news, calls for feedback and details of upcoming BCC calls/events. Email distribution is wide for all levels and is currently twice weekly (Tuesday and Thursday). | Leona Murphy | |
| Chamber
Knowledge Hub |
Network news | NEW An online forum for UK and international Chamber teams to share their events, opportunities and documents with colleagues from across the Chamber Network, by uploading information. | Leona Murphy |
| GBN LinkedIn group | Social media platform for UK and international Chamber teams to share their events and opportunities with colleagues from across the Chamber Network. | Leona Murphy and Anne-Marie Martin |
Other WhatsApp groups for Chamber teams
| CHANNEL | NAME | PURPOSE | CONTACT |
| Chamber comms | BCC press team use this for UK press requests. | Ryan Denston | |
| International CEOs BCC | Information sharing and collaboration between international Chamber CEOs and for BCC team to share important updates. | Anne-Marie Martin | |
| Chamber Policy | For quick reactive feedback from UK Chamber policy leads | James Martin |