10 . Glasgow Business December 2016
John Watson Fund SMEs going for growth
All businesses can apply for financial support from the John Watson Fund
G
lasgow Chamber of Commerce has launched a loan fund for businesses – enabled by a donation from retired printing sector
entrepreneur John M Watson OBE. Chamber members and organisations
across the west of Scotland can apply for a loan from the John Watson Fund, established following the giſt of £100,000 from the retired Glasgow entrepreneur and former owner of print business, John Watson & Company, in 2015. Small to medium-sized enterprises can
apply for between £5,000 and £10,000 to help develop their business goals and achieve their growth ambitions. Applicants can come from any business sector. Applications will be reviewed by an independent Investment Panel and successful applicants will receive
an annual membership to Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, including the opportunity to access the President’s Club mentoring and support system.
Chamber Primary Health Plan The plan provides staff with
The Chamber Primary Health Plan is a Chamber member benefit brought to you by award-winning health provider, Westfield Health. Westfield has been working in partnership with Glasgow Chamber for more than 10 years and has been supporting people throughout their working lives and beyond for almost a century. The innovative, best in class health cover starts from just £4.77 per employee, per month, and includes Personal Accident Cover as standard. The Chamber plan provides
health cover that really works hard for you and your employees. It can be purchased as a standalone product or combined with Hospital Treatment Insurance to provide a more continuous health package by combining everyday health cover and essential diagnostic benefits with access to prompt private surgery.
a range of valuable cash benefits and services. They will receive money back, up to set limits, towards the cost of their essential healthcare including new glasses or contact lenses, dental treatment and physiotherapy. It also includes the valuable
DoctorLine™ service providing policyholders with confidential telephone access to a practicing UK GP, 24-hours a day – every day, from anywhere in the world; quick access to MRI, CT and PET Scanning Facilities; and access for your employees and their resident family to a 24-hour Freephone Counselling and Advice Line and up to six face-to-face counselling sessions (including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – CBT).
For more information on Westfield, visit: www.west
fieldhealth.com/chamber
For more information on the application
process and loan criteria, please contact David MacLeod by emailing
david.macleod@
dramcommunications.com
Glasgow’s Economic Strategy
How Glasgow raises its game on economic productivity will be one of the key topics of 2017. It is now accepted that economic
productivity in the city is significantly affected by high levels of economic inactivity, incapacity of the workforce and issues of ill health. Productivity is a ratio of output
volume measured against capital and the hours of labour that are worked. The recently announced Glasgow Economic Strategy pointed out that while Glasgow has the most productive major city economy in the UK, there are endemic health issues that need to be tackled, along with encouraging innovation and creating better skills for the workforce. The conventional wisdom,
supported by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Glasgow City Council, is that there is a direct correlation between those who are outside the labour market and the city’s overall economic performance. The UK’s cities compare poorly
in terms of productivity and the 10 cities of the UK’s Core Cities network outside of London are outstripped by the European Core Cities of Frankfurt, Rotterdam, Barcelona and Munich. The good news is employment in
Glasgow is at its highest point since 2004 and youth unemployment is lower than it was pre-recession. However, more than 75 per cent of the city’s long-term unemployed have no aspiration to work. The report is looking at setting up a Health Inequalities Commission to develop proposals to improve the health of the city. It is about ensuring every young person gets support in the form of work, training or an apprenticeship. The strategy to increase productivity in Glasgow will focus on raising health, skills for all, creating a fairer Glasgow, supporting key sectors of the economy and enterprise and linking education to job opportunities. The report will be covered in more detail in the next Glasgow Business.
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