Business News Round Up (16/08/2022)
Scottish firms get 58% less innovation funding than other parts of the UK
Scotland has claimed 58% less government innovation funding than some parts of the UK. Analysis of Innovate UK data and business population estimates from the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, by innovation funding firm Catax, show that £12.3bn of grants have been awarded by the government innovation agency since 2003. Over that timeframe, Scotland has benefitted to a greater extent than all regions of the UK, except the North East, west midlands and London, once adjusted for business population. Businesses in Scotland received awards equivalent to £2,704 each, 58.4% less than the North East of England, but slightly higher than the national average of £2,563. Businesses in the North East have received awards equivalent to £6,504 per business, but Scotland receives a far greater share of Innovate UK awards than both Wales (£1,623) and Northern Ireland (£1,465). Applicants in Scotland have been awarded £836m in total. The University of Strathclyde has been offered the biggest grant award in Scotland over the last five years. The £94m funding went towards the Advanced Forming Research Centre aimed at growing UK manufacturing.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-firms-58-less-innovation-27750326
Workers going into office 1.5 days a week, survey suggests
UK workers are going into the office an average of 1.5 days a week, with only 13% coming in on a Friday, a survey suggests. Consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates surveyed 43 offices in the UK, representing nearly 50,000 people, in June and July. It suggests average attendance was 29%, with a peak of 39% mid-week. During the pandemic, offices shifted to homeworking, but many have continued with a hybrid model since then. Pre-Covid, UK workers were going into the office an average of 3.8 days a week, according to the research which covered sectors including banking, energy, engineering, healthcare, insurance, and tech. However, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) the majority of people do not work from home. Its survey in spring 2022, when guidance to work from home was no longer in place in Great Britain, suggested 38% of working adults reported having worked from home at some point over the past seven days. Advanced Workplace Associates, which advises organisations including the Cabinet Office, NatWest and Network Rail, found the UK was broadly in line with other countries. It also surveyed 36 offices in 12 other countries, representing more than 27,000 people. The consultancy’s findings suggested people were coming into the office an average of 1.4 days a week, compared to 3.8 days a week pre-pandemic.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62542537
Administrations up 60% in North West but remain below pre-pandemic levels
The number of businesses entering administration in the North-west in the first six months of 2022 rose 60% on the previous year’s figures, according to a study by Birmingham-headquartered law firm Shakespeare Martineau. The firm’s national analysis found that 93 businesses in the region filed for administration from 1st January to 30th June 2022, out of over 620 nationwide: the third largest total of any UK region, behind London and the South-east. However, administrations remain below their pre-pandemic volume; 940 businesses folded nationwide in the first half of 2019. Shakespeare Martineau have attributed the latest rise to the winding down of support schemes put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. The construction, manufacturing and retail sectors recorded the most administrations, 40% of all recorded by The Gazette Official Public Record, likely as they have been most affected by global supply chain challenges and inflationary pressure on businesses.
Scottish unemployment rate drops to joint record low
The unemployment rate in Scotland has dropped by 1.1 percentage points across the past year, figures have shown. Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found the unemployment rate was at 3.2% in Scotland – the joint lowest figure on record – with almost 90,000 people seeking work between April and July. The rate has dropped this low on three occasions: between February and April and January and March this year, as well as between January and March 2019. This means that the unemployment rate in Scotland is lower than the rest of the United Kingdom, which sits at 3.8%. The rate was unchanged from the previous quarter, increasing by just 2000, but had decreased by 1.1 percentage points when compared to the same quarter last year. Similarly, employment increased by 1.2 percentage points during the same period, with 73,000 more people in work. Employment Minister Richard Lochhead said: “The Scottish economy and labour market are continuing to show resilience, although the employment rate has decreased slightly over the quarter, the unemployment rate was a joint record low in the Scottish series. Additionally, the employment rate for women in Scotland was the highest since the labour force survey estimates were first published in 1992. This is despite the serious challenges Scotland is facing as we recover from the pandemic, with the cost of living crisis, the continued impact of Brexit and the economic consequences of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine all impacting on the economy.”
https://www.thenational.scot/news/20661125.scottish-unemployment-rate-drops-joint-record-low/