Mixed views on budget as chamber makes plea
A group representing businesses across Perth and Kinross has welcomed last week’s budget announcement, but has called on the Scottish Government to do more to help small companies.
Perthshire Chamber of Coimmerce wants to see the Scottish Government provide “equal or greater” levels of support being offered to English companies through the Small Business Bonus scheme.
Vicki Unite, chief executive of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, also praised chancellor Rishi Sunak for his actions in supporting businesses through the coronavirus outbreak.
She said: “Some elements of the budget are welcome for Perthshire businesses, for example, the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme and the £5 billion for broadband connectivity.
“An urgent call from Perthshire Chamber, and the chamber network as a whole, is for the Scottish Government to support small Scottish businesses by levelling the playing field and ensuring that the Small Business Bonus scheme can provide equal or greater levels of support to match that of support for small English companies.
“We ask them to also think about suspending rates bills for retail, leisure and hospitality sectors as the UK Government have announced.
“Our businesses are trying to operate in one of the most challenging environments ever seen - and it’s set to get even worse.
“The Scottish Government needs to invest in business support to face these challenges and we are ready to work with Scottish Government and our partners on this matter.”
Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart also welcomed the efforts to mitigate the effects of coronavirus, but said more focus should be on the impact of Brexit.
He said: “There are a number of things that I welcome in the budget, including the economic response to coronavirus, but we do need further clarification on what funding Scotland will receive as part of this settlement.
“In terms of the overall money available to spend in Scotland, this budget means that the Scottish Government budget is actually lower in real terms than it was in 2010/11.
“The extra money announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer does not reverse the almost £14 billion in cumulative cuts that we have seen, and this has an impact here on the money that Perth and Kinross Council have to spend on delivering local services.
“Given the impact that Brexit is likely to have on the economy locally, it is disappointing to see that very little has been done to mitigate the damage that an end to free movement will do to and I will be continuing to push the UK Government for mitigation measures which could help businesses in Perth and Kinross recruit staff going forward.
“One of the most disappointing aspects of the budget has been the failure to provide any support to the oil and gas sector when it needs support to transition to a greener future.”