BBC News Scotland business

Coach operator Megabus is restarting some services in Yorkshire as England's leisure and hospitality sector prepares to reopen as coronavirus lockdown restrictions are eased.

Google

Part of the firm's network will run again for the first time on 3 July, a day before tourist attractions are allowed to welcome back holidaymakers.

Megabus, which suspended operations in April, will restart routes serving Leeds, Sheffield, London, Bristol, Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham and Norwich.

Social distancing measures will mean there will be reduced capacity, the firm said.

Enhanced cleaning and anti-bacterial stations on board will all be part of the new service, it added.

Drivers will be given masks, visors and gloves, there will be increased filter changing on air conditioning units, and coaches will be deep cleaned before going back on the road, Megabus said.

Elaine Robertson, who owns children's shoe shop Ruby Ruby Shoes in Dunblane and Bridge of Allan, said staff would stand behind full-height screens to fit shoes.

They will operate an appointment-only service and will continue to offer a social-distanced home fitting service, which they have run during lockdown.

Will the business make it to the end of the year?

"We'll absolutely definitely give it our best shot but it has had a major impact on the business," she said.

Getty Images

The shopping experience is going to be very different under the current restrictions, according to Ewan MacDonald Russell of the Scottish Retail Consortium.

As non-essential shops reopen, he told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland that customers were likely to encounter queues and fewer people in stores - just like in supermarkets and pharmacies.

He said consumer confidence was a "huge concern". Although some people were worried about the virus, many were concerned about the economy, their jobs and their own finances.

AFP

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop says Scotland's economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis "has to be education-led" through the university and college sector, "with their connections to business and communities".

Colleges will be able to swiftly up-skill people to take on the economic and employment challenges we now face, she says.

"We need to quickly adapt our labour market for an economy that requires a workforce with a digital, low-carbon, renewable, financial and health and care focus," Ms Hyslop says.

This will also help young people in particular avoid time spent in unemployment, she adds.

Fiona Hyslop, the economy secretary welcomes the report published earlier this week by former Tesco Bank boss Benny Higgins and an advisory group on economic recovery.

She says the report highlights that Scotland faces "enormous challenges", but achieves its aim of setting out a "comprehensive set of recommendations".

BBC

Those recommendations included a nation-wide scheme to offer at least two years of "secure employment" to young people, to avoid "long-term scarring" of a generation.

"The report identifies the importance of employment, education and equality," Ms Hyslop says. "I agree that each one of these will be vital as we seek to create a society that is resilient, fair, and one in which everyone has the opportunity to be successful," she adds.

The Scottish government will now develop a detailed response to the report, which will be published by the end of July.

Stagecoach

Coach operator Megabus is restarting some services from London as England's leisure and hospitality sector prepares to reopen.

Part of its network will run again on 3 July, a day before tourist attractions are allowed to welcome back holidaymakers.

Bookings can be made from Thursday but due to social distancing measures there will be reduced capacity, the firm said.

Enhanced cleaning and anti-bacterial stations on board will all be part of the new service, it added.

Megabus, which suspended operations in April, will restart routes serving London, Bristol, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham and Norwich.

Managing director Mark Venables said the company is "absolutely delighted" to be able to restart its services.

He said: "The timetable we are putting in place will provide access to key cities and towns right across the country.

"Due to social distancing, there will be reduced capacity on coaches, so we'd urge people to plan ahead and book their journey with us early."

PA Media

The Scottish government has asked for new financial powers from the UK Treasury to aid the coronavirus recovery.

These include the ability to borrow up to £500m this year to deal with Covid-19 and flexibility to switch unused budget from capital projects to other spending.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said the powers were "critical to our ability to support recovery".

The move would be on a temporary basis and the request comes ahead of a meeting of finance ministers from the administrations in Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the UK government on Friday.