Last modified on Mon 8 Feb 2021 15.00 EST
The Covid-19 pandemic has been brutal for many small businesses. But there is cause for optimism. A recent Goldman Sachs survey of 10,000 SMEs found that for every two businesses that had cut jobs, another had increased its number of employees. And 79% of entrepreneurs had identified new skills gaps which needed to be filled.
Apprenticeships could play a big part in helping this recovery, and new measures are already in place. Under chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Plan for Jobs, employers who hire an apprentice between 1 August 2020 and 31 March 2021 can claim a £2,000 incentive payment for any apprentices aged 16 to 24, and £1,500 for those aged 25 and over.
Ed Miliband today insisted Labour s shadow attorney general Lord Falconer is very, very sorry after he described the coronavirus pandemic as a gift that keeps on giving for lawyers.
Nadhim Zahawi says AstraZeneca is confident its vaccine prevents serious illness caused by South African strain after study of 2,000 patients found some got mild or moderate symptoms – as he reveals roll-out almost hit 1,000 jabs EVERY MINUTE
A small trial of 2,026 people found jab had limited efficacy in protecting against mild and moderate disease
The pharmaceutical giant said scientists will now start adapting the vaccine to kill the new variant
Nobody died or was hopitalised during study by South Africa s University of the Witwatersrand and Oxford
A testing blitz is underway in some parts of the country to track down cases of the South African variant
Data published by the Department for Health today shows that another 15,845 cases were recorded in the UK, down by 25 per cent from 21,088 cases last Sunday.