Food and drink businesses across Scotland will benefit from a share of more than £10 million to improve supply-chain efficiency, increase production and run feasibility studies.

A total of 33 businesses, large and small, will receive grants ranging from £16,000 to £1.4 million from the Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC) grant scheme.

Planning for Net Zero

Developments which reduce carbon emissions to tackle climate change and restore nature would be promoted under finalised proposals for long term planning reform.

The revised draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) sets out sustainable policies against which planning applications would be assessed for the next decade and seeks to deliver a new and bold direction with a shift in culture and approach to planning in Scotland.

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Kirkcaldy’s New Speciality Yoga Studio Expands Offering

A speciality studio has opened in Kirkcaldy offering various yoga disciplines as well as a range of physio and sports therapies, all with the aim of enhancing the wellbeing of new and existing clients. 

Based in the town’s Nicol Street, bend breathe become’s Founder, Debbie Paterson opened The Loft in June (2022), from where five specialist instructors teach. In addition to yoga, pilates, meditation, stretch and tone, which can take place at the studio or online at home, The Loft is expanding to offer workshops on topics including menopause and perimenopause. 

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Fife Council Launches New Fund To Support Local Event Organisers This Winter

The Fife Events Development Fund, which comes from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, will benefit new and existing eligible events taking place in Fife. It is also hoped it will help attract more people along to the events.

Event organisers hosting events taking place between Friday 25th November 2022 and Friday 31st March 2023 may be eligible for support from £200 - £10,000 and events taking place within town centres will be prioritised.

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HOM and Briggs Marine Sign Collaboration Agreement to Deliver Best-in-Class O and M Services

Horizon Ocean Management (HOM) – a subsidiary joint venture between Mitsui and Hokutaku (the leading turbine maintenance company in Japan) – have signed a collaboration agreement with Briggs Marine to establish the most progressive offshore wind operations and maintenance consultancy and service provision offering within the burgeoning Japanese market.

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Rural Fife Development Fund - Climate Action Micro-Grants Fund

The Rural Fife Development Fund - Climate Action Micro-Grants Fund is supporting community organisations and small rural businesses to make positive climate changes through one of these main areas:

• Energy
• Land Management
• Local Food
• Less Waste
• Active Travel.

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High-Growth Spinout Programme

The High-Growth Spinout Programme (HGSP) provides funding to support the commercialisation of advanced technologies developed at Scotland's universities, research institutes and NHS boards. The objective is to create new high-growth companies with the potential to generate significant economic impact in Scotland.

The purpose of the funding is to address gaps in the business plan for the prospective technology. The grant can support up to 100 per cent of the direct costs of a project, up to a maximum of £75,000.

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If you’re a UK business that sells goods or services to Europe, you can contact the UK Government's export support team by phone or online.

You can ask any question for your business, and get advice on topics such as how to export to new markets, the paperwork you need to sell your goods abroad and the rules for a specific country where you want to sell services.

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Living Wage Week 2022
14th - 20th November 

Living Wage Week is the annual celebration of the Living Wage movement across the UK. This year, with prices rising at their highest rate in decades, the real Living Wage is more important than ever.

Living Wage Week celebrates all those employers who support their staff with a wage that meets the cost of living as well as encouraging employers that don't already pay the real Living Wage to consider doing so.

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How to Scale with Purpose 

This in-person four day course will teach you the critical steps for growth, covering Leadership, Teams, Sales & Investment.
This course is taught by experts in their field, including Mark Logan, Chief Entrepreneur and former COO at Skyscanner, Graeme Barron, VP Trustpilot and Arelette Halavage from GSK. 
 
As part of the course, founders will be invited on immersive company visits that allow you to peer behind the scenes on some of the most successful companies and take part in interactive masterclasses, leaving you with a strategy for action at the end of the course.

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