23 Dec 2020
By Alison McRae, Senior Director at Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
Well, it has been an unprecedented year - an expression we never have thought would be so heavily used as we started 2020. It has also been a year of new words with COVID-19, furlough, pivot, lockdown, nightingale hospitals, social distancing and bubbles – with a whole new meaning – all being peppered throughout the language of our daily lives.
We’ve also experienced a new virtual work life with so many of us working from home. ‘You’re on mute’ has become a regular throwaway line as we huddle around one of the many new digital technologies which have been embraced with such vigour and pace – previously met with great resistance. A global pandemic certainly forced that dial.
I have been reflecting back on what has happened this year and I remember vividly when it became apparent to me that we were in serious trouble. It was 4 March in the SEC for the STA Spring Conference where the new tourism strategy: Scotland Outlook 2030 - a genuine collaborative effort led by Marc Crothall and the first-class STA team - was launched by the First Minister.
Before making her formal address, she gave a few opening remarks about COVID-19 which had by then landed in Scotland. There was only a handful of cases at that time, but her tone was sombre and she expressed that it would probably get a lot worse before it got better and she hoped that we would come out of the other side ok.
The situation promptly began to crescendo into a white-knuckle ride for our business community as we went into lockdown later that month. Throughout, the team at Glasgow Chamber of Commerce has worked tirelessly, under the steadfast leadership of our CEO Stuart Patrick, and been on the frontline flying the flag to support our members and champion Glasgow, fighting for their best interests along the journey.
At the outset, so much of our role was about listening to businesses and understanding the issues being faced across the board alongside gathering data to mitigate the impacts to the city’s business community so that we could respond accordingly. That led to the swift set up of our Glasgow Business Resilience Council – which comprises some 60 senior members from across a variety of sectors – and our resilience support mechanisms through our excellent policy support team from DRAM. This has been our anchor line over the last 10 months and has enabled us to react weekly to the changing UK and Scottish Government policies and announcements.
Initial lobbying through our work with British Chambers of Commerce sought support for businesses which were likely to find themselves struggling with cash flow. Shortly after the Chancellor announced the Job Retention Scheme and ongoing work ensured it was extended until May. Thereafter the calls for action to both UK and Scottish Governments were plentiful across various subsidies for business, mass testing, and support for young people who will be amongst the very worst hit from this crisis.
The health of our city centre’s businesses has become more critical than ever as we find Glasgow now with the 4th worst footfall figures across UK cities. Our call for a City Centre Taskforce will focus on this providing city leadership and senior level advocacy to address, and secure resources for, key issues.
It has been a long haul and our personal wellbeing has possibly never been so important. As we head into the festive season, be sure to stop even for a short time and breathe. We will all need our batteries fully recharged to take us into and deal with whatever 2021 holds.
This article was first published in the Herald Scotland on 23 December 2020.
