CORONAVIRUS UPDATE 11TH DECEMBER 2020

Changes to self-isolation rules

The first minister confirmed this morning that the period of self-isolation has been cut from 14 days to 10.
This applies to people asked to isolate as contacts and those returning from countries that are not exempt.
She says the new changes take effect from Monday 14th December.
These will have no impact on the payment for people on low incomes who are currently given £500 when they must self-isolate.

UK ports chaos sparks supplier warning

This has the potential to affect the supply of any imported products in the lead up to the festive period. Please ensure you have all you need for the busy time and in some cases, alternatives may need to be considered as suppliers have been let down by this too.
A tidal wave of trucks now believed to be at 12,000 per day or more is crossing Channel – up 2,000 per day
The log-jam at container ports means many hauliers are switching to using ferries and the Channel Tunnel
A spike in imports due to the pandemic, coupled with the higher demand for imports around Christmas and stockpiling triggered by fears of a No Deal Brexit have led to bottlenecks.
Please check with your suppliers in the first instance, we will continue to raise any issues with the Scottish Government and stake holders on your behalf. However, it appears that many import companies have been affected.

FSS food business and food retail self-assessment tools

Food Standards Scotland have been working on food business and food retail self-assessment tools under the Scottish Governments COVID-19 Strategic Framework and their COVID-19 Safety and Compliance Programme. These are now published.
The intention behind the tools is that they provide a practical toolkit for food businesses and food retail establishments in maintaining internal audit records to demonstrate ongoing compliance with COVID-19 protective measures. Feedback from Incident Management Teams had been identified as a weakness so use of these will allow businesses to demonstrate that they are following the measures required and can help in providing assurance to regulators and potentially assist in IMT discussions in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak.

The link below takes you to FSS main guidance page and the tools are listed in the area below alongside the others materials available.

covid-19-guidance-for-food-business-operators-and-their-employees

The self-assessment for retail questionnaire is particularly helpful to allow our members to measure how well their protocols meet the requirements of the Incident Management Teams.

Modern Apprentice Employer Incentive

Whether it's hiring someone new or developing an existing employee, apprenticeships can help provide the skills your business needs.
A new Apprenticeship Employer Grant has been made available to further support employers when taking on Modern or Graduate Apprentices within their business.
• £5,000 will be made available for employers taking on a 16 to 24-year old apprentice, and for those aged up to 29 years who are either disabled, care leavers or Black and Minority Ethnic (BME)
• £3,500 will be made available for employers taking on an apprentice aged 25 or over
• Funding will be available for eligible employers where the apprenticeship start date was on or after 1st December 2020. Funding will be available for starts until 25th March 2021 or until funding levels are exceeded, whichever comes first.
More information and application details on the Apprenticeship Employer Grant will be made available from early January 2021.

Contact Claire on 01738 637785 or [email protected] to register your interest.

The Scottish Craft Butchers office in Perth is now closed following government guidelines.
We will be available to our members to answer any queries via email or by mobile phone and will be available out of office hours for any members wanting to contact us.
Our contact details are below
Gordon King: – [email protected] 07917524313
Bruce McCall: – [email protected] 07834490922

Attachments:

• Self_Assessment_retail_-_27_Nov_2020.pdf