Today's political diary: Thursday, December 8

Scottish Parliament:

Business includes:

• General Questions
• First Minister’s Questions
• Members’ Business – S6M-05880 Bob Doris: How Will We Survive: Steps to Preventing Destitution in the Asylum System
• Portfolio Questions
• Ministerial Statement: Scottish Attainment Challenge – Local Authority Stretch Aims for Recovery and Accelerating Progress in 2022-23
• Scottish Government Debate: International Human Rights Days
• Decision Time

UK Parliament:

Business of interest includes:

• Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
• Public Audit Committee
• Social Justice and Social Security Committee
• COVID-19 Recovery Committee
• Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Aberdeenshire Council:

Business includes a meeting of the Education and Children’s Services Committee.

Aberdeen City Council:

No business.

News/Consultations/Funding:

• Applications open for £42 million Techscaler network – tech companies looking to grow their operations can now apply for free mentorship and professional advice. More information can be found here.
• The Scottish Government Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund – the fund aims to finance organisations, businesses, communities, and individuals to transition to net zero, creating jobs in low carbon industries and contributing to the region’s future prosperity. More information can be found here. Closing date is the 9^th of December 2022.
• Energy Market Financing Scheme – the scheme opens today to help support viable energy firms with major operations in the UK from the unprecedented volatility triggered by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. More information can be found here.
• Energy Bill Relief Scheme for non-domestic customers. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) will provide discounts on energy bills for non-domestic customers in Great Britain. The discounts will initially be applied to energy usage between 1^st October 2022 and 31 March 2023. The discount will be applied automatically to all eligible bills by suppliers. You do not need to take action or apply to the scheme, however if you would like more information please see here.
• Scottish Enterprise Account Management Service. Scottish Enterprise are providing a dedicated account management service for ambitious companies that are able to demonstrate that they can make a significant contribution to achieving a fairer and greener economy. For more information, or to apply, please see here.
• The Flexible Workforce Development Fund - £15k available for Scottish businesses to retrain and upskill workforce. More information can be found here.
• Low Carbon Transport Business Loan 2022/23 – Interest free loans are available to Scottish businesses to help lower their transport and travel costs. These loans are funded by Transport Scotland and have a repayment term of up to 6 years. More information can be found here.
• Recovery Loan Scheme extended – The UK Government has extended the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) by a further two years, with applications opening in August 2022 – when further details on the scheme will also be released. More information can be found here.
• £22 million support package to help unemployed people over 50 find work – The package will fund new measures that will help thousands of people across the UK who are over the age of 50 and unemployed. As a result, they will be given further individual support to help them find work before retirement. More information can be found here.

• Investing in net zero energy – new funding to drive innovation within the hydrogen sector and accelerate its production and storage has been launched. More information can be found here.
• Switched on Taxis Loan – Interest free loans of up to £150,000 are available to help owners and operators of hackney cabs and private hire taxis to replace their current vehicles with an eligible ultra-low emission vehicle. For further information please click here

Low Emission Zone Support Fund for Businesses - Eligible Scottish micro businesses and sole traders can apply for up to £2,000 to take older, more polluting vehicles off the road and move towards cleaner transport options. This is for operating vehicles that are not compliant with the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) standards, in Scotland’s 4 largest cities. More information can be found here.