“Fix your bike” scheme launched 29 July 2020
The government is launching a scheme that offers £50 worth of bike repair vouchers to people in England, in the hope that it will encourage people to begin cycling and walking. Initially, 50,000 vouchers will be made available online on a first-come, first-served basis, from 23:45 on Tuesday 28 July. It has also been confirmed that bikes will be made available on the NHS, and GPs will be able to prescribe cycling, as part of the government’s strategy to tackle obesity. This is due to the fact that individuals who are classed as being overweight or obese are more likely to become seriously ill, or die, due to coronavirus. If more people begin walking and cycling, A positive impact would also be had on the environment. In order to help to manage capacity, the “Fix Your Bike” vouchers will be released in batches, which will also allow the government to monitor the scheme prior to its roll out more widely. £50 should be enough to pay the bill for a standard service and the replacement of any basic component of the bike. It can be applied to up to two cycles per household, and is available for use by anyone who has an unused cycle that needs fixing.
There are also plans to create new protected cycle lanes, arrange cycle training for children and adults, and a bid to make the first zero-emission transport city in the UK, in order to get people both walking and cycling.
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Additional funding provided to low income families in Scotland 30 July 2020
The Scottish government has confirmed that it has allocated funding of £37.6 million to support individuals and families on low incomes over the past 12 months up to 31 March 2020 – this is an increase of 7% on the previous year.
The fund received 296,870 applications for help, with families most frequently citing the reason behind their application being that their benefits or other income had already been spent – this is an increase of 27% on the previous year. Scottish Welfare Fund payments included £12.9 million in Crisis Grants (an increase of 24%) and £24.7 million on Community Care Grants.
Shirley-Anne Sommerville, Social Security Secretary said:
“This is further evidence that the UK Government’s benefits cuts are hitting the poorest in Scotland the hardest, with more and more people struggling just to make ends meet and being pushed to rely on food banks, or suffer from the stress of debt and rent arrears.
That’s without taking into consideration the significant financial impact that coronavirus (COVID-19)is having on some of those earning the least in our society.
We took early action in March to more than double the Scottish Welfare Fund to £80.5 million this year in response to the expected impact of coronavirus, and we have made an additional £110 million available to support people struggling to access food during the pandemic.
That funding will help local authority partners continue to support people at this time and we would encourage anyone in need of support to apply to the Scottish Welfare Fund.”
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35 million meals claimed in first two weeks of Eat Out to Help Out scheme 20 August 2020
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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