Monthly Archives: July 2020

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Why Britain’s SMEs need a proper small business bank

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Originally written by Greg Taylor on Small Business
The UK banking system is currently failing small businesses.
In theory we do have a solution, the British Business Bank (BBB), but it’s not fit for purpose and isn’t even a real bank – just a platform for connecting lenders to SMEs. As we look to reboot the UK economy, the government needs to take radical action to ensure small businesses aren’t denied funding by a banking system which doesn’t work for them.
At present SMEs looking for funding face a perfect storm. Blanket credit policies from the banks, the fact that some SMEs are overleveraged due to the CBILS borrowing they needed to survive the pandemic, issues with liquidity within many alternative peer-to-peer lenders, and the banks’ current lack of lending appetite, have all combined to make present circumstances very tough for SMEs. They need help urgently and the best solution would be to establish a new government-backed bank to rival the main high street and investment banks and to replace the British Business Bank.
>See also: British Business Bank increases small business support by over a quarter in the past year
The British Business Bank doesn’t perform a banking role but simply helps introduce other

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7 actions to improve your company’s cyber security while working remotely

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Working remotely has become a fixture during COVID-19 and is likely to become more common in business once the lockdown has passed.
Cyber security is now all the more important for you and your employees. Research from DSA Connect shows that since working from home, 8 per cent of people have increased access to confidential data compared with the 6 per cent who say they have less.
It seems that companies are aware of the risks. Cyber security services provider, Nexor, says that UK Google searches for ‘cyber defense’ [sic] went up by 126 per cent between January and March 2020. That’s up 116 per cent from March 2019. Searches for ‘cyber security services’ rose by 44 per cent and ‘how to install a VPN’ increased by 40 per cent.
However, Kaspersky says that only a third (34 per cent) of small businesses are keeping employees updated on security requirements for personal devices. This can be mirrored in staff conduct. Research from Tessian shows that 52 per cent of workers feel they can get away with riskier behaviour when they work remotely.
It’s not the same case for everyone. Normally cyber security is in the hands of

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How to reopen your gym, pool or leisure facility post lockdown

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The Government has announced that gyms, pools and other leisure facilities in England can reopen from July 25th.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden also said that tattooists, beauticians and nail salons can reopen on the same day.
As well as general COVID-19 safety advice, such as encouraging contactless payments and putting up signage to highlight social distancing, the Government has issued specific guidelines for leisure facilities.
The full guidelines can be found at the Gov.uk, but we’ve picked out some of the ones you should know about.
Visiting instructors, coaches, teachers, and management
If you’re running class or personal coaching sessions, keep these in mind:

Consider limiting the number of classes that rotating instructors teach in order to minimise exposure
Determine the number of facilities they are comfortable with instructors rotating amongst in order to minimise exposure. Establish a system for monitoring this
Given the high risk of transmission from visiting instructors, where possible, establish a private testing programme for rotating/visiting instructors

Contact while using facilities
Fitness spaces
Pieces of gym equipment should be an appropriate distance apart so as to comply with social distancing guidelines and with a suitable margin for adequate circulation or one-way routes. This can be achieved by moving equipment,

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