Scottish Parliament
Business includes:
- Time for Reflection: Rev Dr Bruce Ritchie, Retired Church of Scotland Minister
- Stage 3 Proceedings: Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill
- Committee Announcements
- Decision Time
The following Committees meet in the morning:
- Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
- Finance and Public Administration Committee
- Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
- Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
- Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
UK Parliament
Business includes:
- Oral questions (Treasury)
- Westminster Hall debate (Future of rail services)
- Westminster Hall debate (Expansion of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone)
- Oral questions (Improvement of rail services in Great Britain)
- Oral questions (Number of bilateral free trade agreements expected to be signed in the next 24 months)
- Legislation (Finance Bill – second reading and remaining stages)
- Oral evidence of the Liaison Committee (The work of the Prime Minister)
- Private Meeting of the European Affairs Committee (The future UK-EU relationship)
Aberdeenshire Council
Business includes a meeting of the Harbours Sub-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.
- 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 1st 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.