A multi-government agency partnership is running the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme, which has been allocated £30m over the next 3 years to help reduce water pollution from farming activity. Farmers will be encouraged to apply for grants to invest in new equipment and technology to reduce fertiliser usage that causes pollution.

South Holland District Council has launched a £1.25m recovery scheme to help local businesses recover from the impact of Covid-19 and also invest in future growth. Businesses can apply for grants worth between £1,000 and £25,000. Application deadline is 31 December 2021.

Portsmouth City Council has been required to implement a chargeable clean air zone in its city centre in November 2021, charging older and more polluting vehicles for access. Local businesses can apply for the Clean Air Fund to receive financial support towards upgrading or replacing older non-compliant HGV vehicles to avoid being charged.

The Eastern New Energy project from by the Peterborough Environment City Trust and the University of East London is providing capital grants starting at £1,000, worth 25% of project costs for SMEs based in the East of England. Grants will help businesses undertake projects that will improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. Grants will be available until late 2021.

The Energy Saving Trust is providing loans of up to £30,000 for businesses in Scotland to help them reduce the carbon impact of their transport and travel arrangements by using new pedal-assisted electric bikes or adapted cycles. Loans are interest free and includes funding for cargo bikes for £6,000 and electric bikes for £3,000.

The British Retail Consortium has revealed that there is an increase in empty shop units across the UK, due to disruption to trading and closures because of lockdowns and Covid-19. Shopping centres are the worst affected, with one in five retail units now closed and vacancy rates are highest in North East England, then Wales followed by the North West.

Nicola Sturgeon is planning to further ease lockdown restrictions across the whole of Scotland on 9 August. Changes that are part of re-opening the economy include a relaxation of social distancing rules, a return to office working and an increase in crowd sizes at events.

A series of negative customer reviews have revealed that a number of private PCR test providers recommended by the Government are failing to provide compulsory tests in time for flights, or are overcharging customer and providing low quality test products. The Government plans to investigate and strike off test providers from their list of recommendations who they consistently receive complaints over.

The UK Government is reducing the notification contact tracing period of the NHS Covid-19 App for those who come into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 without symptoms from 5 days to 2 days. This means that fewer people will be pinged to self isolate and aims to reduce worker shortage issues across all sectors.