Firms being left ‘on the brink’
HUNDREDS of businesses will be left ‘on the brink’ after financial aid schemes were closed by the Scottish Government,
A message on the official government portal last night confirmed that applications for the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund and Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund had ‘now closed’. They had been open for just weeks.
Scottish Conservative economy spokesman Maurice Golden said ministers risked accusations that they were ‘leaving hard-working firms on the brink’.
He added: ‘The SNP government has received hundreds of millions in support from the UK Government during this crisis. But it’s unclear where some of that cash has gone.’
Nicola Sturgeon announced £90million for the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund to provide grants and support to small and medium sized enterprises. A further £20million went to the second fund to assist small and micro firms with grants of up to £25,000.
The funds were part of a package including a £34million Newly
Self-Employed Hardship Fund. This is still open to any who became selfemployed after April 6, 2019 and do not qualify for the UK scheme.
In England, every retail, hospitality and leisure property with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000 is eligible for a £25,000 grant and Scottish Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop pledged to replicate a scheme brought in by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
However, ministers later said it would be one grant per business, even if firms had additional eligible properties. Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes was forced into an embarrassing U-turn and has now opened applications allowing businesses to receive further grants – though they are capped at 75 per cent for subsequent properties.
It has emerged that only a quarter of the firms applying for grants have received cash help.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Ministers are listening to concerns from businesses during this unprecedented economic crisis and our total package of support now totals £2.3billion.
‘We continue to assess the existing support and are in touch with the UK Government to make the case for the specific needs of Scotland’s business community.’