Living in the shadow of Plymouth s eerie abandoned airport On a moonlit night you have direct views across Dartmoor
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England s business heartland is in the depths of its third lockdown of the pandemic and the outlook is bleak for the country’s smaller companies.
On Friday it was announced British retail sales suffered the largest annual fall in history in 2020 – dropping 1.9 per cent from 2019. Without a boost to government support schemes at least 250,000 of the 5.9 million small companies in the UK are set to close in 2021, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.
Entrepreneurs are hoping for relief from a £3bn scheme to help a million small business owners who pay themselves through dividends rather than salaries. A proposed Directors Income Support Scheme would pay sole directors up to 80 per cent of lost profits for three months, up to a ceiling of £7,500, offering a small boost for entrepreneurs, who have so far received nothing.
Andrew McRae, Scotland policy chair at the FSB, says it is ‘little wonder’ that 40% of small business owners are worried about their mental health By Kristy Dorsey
Business leaders have warned of a mental health “crisis” among entrepreneurs as new research has revealed that 40 per cent of small firm owners in Scotland are worried about their psychological state. The findings from a survey of 1,200 SME owners by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) come as the country heads into the 11th month of varying lockdown restrictions to control the coronavirus pandemic. With no timetable as to when these might ease and allow businesses to resume regular trading, the FSB is calling on the Scottish Government to roll out a mental health support service specifically aimed small business owners, similar to that currently operating in Australia.