Article Source: Glasgow City Council
Last Updated: 16 August 2022 13:25
Image: Glasgow City Council Leader Susan Aitken at Brave Bakers, Saltmarket, one of the businesses accepting the Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Card. She is pictured with owner Petru Blaj.
Action by Glasgow City Council to support residents through the cost-of-living crisis will see millions of pounds spent with local businesses.
Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Cards worth £105 each have started arriving at 85,000 households eligible for the one-off cash boost.
And those receiving them are being urged to ensure the cards are spent to their maximum value - not just to help them cope with the burden of rising bills, but also to inject millions of pounds into city businesses.
While the gift cards from the council scheme alone are worth more than £8m, it is hoped that their use will unlock many millions more as residents realise the benefits of spending locally for food, clothes, other household essentials and much more.
The cards can only be spent with Glasgow businesses registered to accept them. More than 700 have already signed up.
Glasgow City Council Leader, Councillor Susan Aitken, highlighted the double benefit of the initiative today as visited one of the businesses registered to accept it - at the same time as cards dropped through thousands of letterboxes.
Speaking after visiting Brave Bakers, in Saltmarket, Cllr Aitken said: “Using the gift cards in the way that we are will not only help people struggling with the cost of living in low income households, but unlock a multi-million pound boost for businesses in Glasgow.
“This is a win-win for the city. It enables people and businesses to help each other at a time when it’s critical for our communities to pull together to tackle the significant challenges we continue to face in recovering from coronavirus as well as dealing with the rise in living costs.”
Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Cards are expected to be with all eligible households in the coming days.
Every household receiving one has already been sent a unique activation code which they will need to use their gift card.
Brave Bakers, on Saltmarket, has been in business since 2018 and is one of the places which has signed up to accept the Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Card. The bakery and cafe showcases its own creations as well as those from other local food producers.
Owner Petru Blaj said: “I hope the gift card will attract more customers and people to try our products. It’s so important for businesses like ours that local people support us. We hope that the gift card will provide another way in which we can do that.
“We have a lot of people who travel here - people who’ve discovered us through various events - to enjoy what we produce. But we would like more local people to as well. It’s a great chance for them to meet us - and us to meet them.”
Glasgow City Council supported Petru as he set up his enterprise through the Business Gateway programme.
The Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Card is the UK’s biggest local gift card scheme in terms of the numbers of businesses signed up to accept it.
On top of the council disbursement scheme, they are also available for anyone to buy and spend with, in the same way any other gift card is.
The gift card is an extension of the Scotland Loves Local campaign, the drive led by Scotland’s Towns Partnership’s (STP) for people to help their communities recover from the coronavirus pandemic by supporting local businesses.
STP Chief Officer Phil Prentice said: “The Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Card really will bring the city together, helping those who need it most with the rising cost of living and securing the future of local businesses at the same time.
“Local businesses need our support to survive. I hope that people will stick with them not just when spending the gift cards they receive from the council, but for the long term too.”
Perth-based fintech Miconex is administering and delivering the Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Card, as it is each of the individual gift card programmes available in Scotland’s 32 local authority regions.
Miconex Managing Director Colin Munro said: “We are confident that the council’s disbursement programme - coupled with wider Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Card sales - has the potential to be worth millions of pounds more than its face value.
“Our experience of running similar schemes across the UK, Ireland and North America tells us this. The potential for Glasgow to benefit over many years is huge.”
Funding for the council disbursement project has come via a £9.45m Covid Economic Recovery Funding package awarded to the council by the Scottish Government.
There is no application process for the gift cards distributed by the council. Households which were in receipt of Council Tax Reduction as of June 1st 2022 will automatically receive their free gift card.
Find out more about the Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Card at www.glasgow.gov.uk/loveslocal. Businesses can also find details there about how to register.
Staring X-Factor winner and legend Sam Bailey and Strictly Come Dancing royalty Kevin Clifton, Everybody's Talking About Jamie comes to the King's Theatre Glasgow in May!
READ MORECreative Oceanic powered by Oceanic Awards is proud to announce the 7th Scottish Hospitality Awards 2024.
READ MOREScotland's first listening bar opens this weekend with a programme of impressive global DJs and exceptional sound quality set to soundtrack Glasgow.
READ MOREElaine C. Smith will play the role of The Childcatcher in the new production of the most fantasmagorical musical of all time, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, when it comes to Glasgow's King's Theatre!
READ MOREHistoric Environment Scotland (HES) has announced that over twenty sites across the country are set to reopen their doors to visitors this weekend.
READ MOREGlasgow gourmands, the wait is over! After shaking up the street food scene in the Scottish capital, Ozen is now bringing its Eastern fusion flavours westside and launching in Glasgow!
READ MOREJoin Diabetes Scotland for a virtual event about an exciting new programme supporting children and young people 11 - 25 living with type 1 diabetes - Together Type 1.
READ MOREThere will be no Aye Write book festival this year after its application for funding was rejected by Creative Scotland.
READ MOREBuchanan Galleries, together with Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity, has donated 500 chocolate Easter Eggs for children in hospital to enjoy.
READ MOREAn independent evaluation published by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health has highlighted significant, wide-ranging benefits delivered by the Go Cycle Glasgow Fund.
READ MOREVEGA, Glasgow's sky-high bar and restaurant, has unveiled a jam-packed new weekly music programme to welcome those sunny spring nights!
READ MOREMulti-platinum selling recording artist and award-winning West End actor, Matt Cardle, will play the role of Shakespeare in the upcoming UK and Ireland tour of & Juliet.
READ MOREThe King's Theatre, Glasgow have announced additional dates for this year's high-flying pantomime adventure, Peter Pan.
READ MORECarmunnock Heritage Trail launches this Easter weekend. It's a unique, free, multi-media tour with 16 QR coded video stops around Glasgow's last remaining village.
READ MORENoughties stars The Cheeky Girls, Gareth Gates and S Club 7's Bradley McIntosh have taken a sip back in time to mark the release of IRN-BRU's new 2000s-inspired flavours!
READ MOREGP Racing Simulators will incorporate 10 professional grade racing simulators, each equipped with a racing seat, steering wheel, pedals and a 43" monitor, alongside a licensed bar and dining complex.
READ MOREMacdonald Hotels, one of the UK’s most popular independent hotel groups, invites you to join them for an Easter break to remember.
READ MORELeadership specialist Gavin Bryce announces the launch of the second Unmasking Leaders Workshop of 2024 on Thursday 11th April in Glasgow returns by demand.
READ MOREDobbies is welcoming families along to 68 of its stores this Easter to enjoy an array of free activities, including its Little Seedlings Club workshop and Easter Holiday sessions.
READ MOREThe search is on to find the best of the best in Scottish tourism as the Scottish Thistles Awards returns.
READ MOREScotland's inaugural Polestar Showroom officially opened at leading retail and leisure destination Silverburn on Friday 22nd March.
READ MOREThis year's FREE Springfest is playing host to two great Scottish chefs – Niall Murray and Rohan Wadke, who will inspire visitors with their FREE cooking demonstrations.
READ MOREA host of brand-new family favourites are landing at Vue this Easter, meaning there are plenty of opportunities to spend quality family time at the big screen during the holidays.
READ MOREGlasgow Film Festival (GFF) 2024 wrapped up on Sunday 10 March by celebrating a bumper year of ticket sales and local and international talent.
READ MORESix by Nico's upcoming menu promises to take guests on a quintessential New York gastronomic excursion.
READ MOREFrom an Easter Egg-stravaganza on Easter Sunday to high-tech golf games suitable for all the family, Topgolf Glasgow is a must-visit destination during the half-term break.
READ MOREStrathclyde University were crowned winners of Scotland’s largest student varsity sporting competition, the Glasgow Taxis Cup, after edging out city rivals Glasgow and Glasgow Caledonian.
READ MORESpring is in the air and with it comes the return of one of Scotland's largest outdoor food and drink festivals to Paisley!
READ MOREAward-winning performance Pain and I by Sarah Hopfinger, about living with chronic pain, and moving with care, returns to tour Scotland.
READ MOREMore than fifty of Glasgow's leading restaurants and cafes have revealed their exclusive menus to mark the countdown to Glasgow Restaurant Week!
READ MOREGo Radio | Number 1 for Glasgow & The West - Listen on DAB, Online or on your Smart Speaker, just say "Launch Go Radio"