CORONAVIRUS UPDATE 21st MAY 2021

Compensation scam
We have had a report from one of our members of a potential scam via text and call. The name used was the same as the individual in the case below.
The individual claims that his daughter has swallowed a piece of plastic which was in a product bought from the business. The Individual then asks for compensation.
Please be aware of this, and if contacted, please refer to the police.

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Covid update

Here's a recap of what happened at today's Scottish government briefing:
• Moray will move to level two restrictions from midnight
• Glasgow will remain in level three for at least another week
• East Renfrewshire, where case levels per 100,000 are now higher than in Glasgow, will stay in level two
• The first minister explained that the number of cases is significantly smaller in East Renfrewshire, where there were 17 on Thursday compared with 166 in Glasgow
• East Renfrewshire cases have been mainly traced to household cluster
• A new travel ban has been introduced to English virus hotspots Bedford, Bolton, Blackburn and Darwen
• Nicola Sturgeon urged Hibs and St Johnstone fans to watch this weekend's cup final at home
• The Scottish government will now refer to the so-called “Indian variant” as the April 02 variant to avoid stigmatising communities.
• Scotland registered 414 new cases of Covid-19, 1.9% of all tests
• There were no further deaths following a positive test in the last 24 hours
• A total of 3,082,251 people have received their first dose of the vaccine
• The number who have had their second dose has reached 1,769,040
• Cases across the whole of Scotland have risen by 25% over the past week

Facemasks in Customer Facing roles

Following a few calls from members about staff wearing face coverings we have asked Food Standards Scotland for clarity. FSS confirmed the guidance has not changed since it was last updated on the 26th April 2021.
We are aware however that an update to the guidance is expected in the week or so and we will advise once we have sight of this.
At the moment any staff in a retail setting serving customers, even if this is from behind the service counter must wear a face covering (a mask is NOT stipulated but in reality, this is most commonly used).
Staff working in production areas don't necessarily have to wear a face covering it depends on the business risk assessment for example there may be risks to food or health and safety that will have a bearing on whether this is desirable. In instances where a face covering isn't used in production areas then other mitigation measures should be utilised i.e. physical distancing.

Apprentice Employment Grants

The above scheme has now closed, and we have completed the process of issuing the payments to employers.
As this scheme incurred substantial extra costs to Craft Skills Scotland through staff time, travel and processing of the applications during the sign-up process, employers were asked to contribute £500 towards the apprenticeship. This is a non-refundable contribution.
If a trainee on this scheme leaves your employment before completion of the apprenticeship, then Skills Development Scotland will require you to repay the FULL AMOUNT of the original grant. Skills Development Scotland will invoice you directly.
We recommend that you ensure the trainee completes the course!

Meat Management Industry Awards 2021, Entries Open Now.

Update to e-mail contact details
As we have now completed the process of changing the name of the organisation to “Scottish Craft Butchers” we have also taken to opportunity to change our e-mail addresses to reflect this.
Please note the new e-mail contact details for Gordon and Bruce below.
Our mobile numbers remain the same.

Gordon King: [email protected] 07917524313
Bruce McCall: [email protected] 07834490922