The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
B&B with angling trips fails to find government relief during pandemic
AM o r a y businessman who has been rejected for support from five coronavirus relief funds has called for governments to close gaps in the system during the second wave.
Ian Neale runs angling excursions and a B&B with wife Barbara near Forres for angling enthusiasts.
Lockdown left the couple with an empty reservations book during most of the peak season as tourists stayed away.
But Mr Neale has not received any government support to save the business he has built up over 20 years.
Reasons given for rejections have included the fact that he pays council tax instead of business rates, his choice to run his firm from a business bank account instead of a personal one and because he took a bank loan – a decision he says he only took when he had no other option.
Now Mr Neale is calling for governments to close up the cracks in the Covid-19 relief system he has fallen through to ensure he is able to survive the winter.
He said: “Our season did pick up a little at the end but I think people, quite rightly, are still nervous about what they do and where they go. A lot of my clients are elderly and retired professionals and they simply won’t travel at the moment.
“We rely on the money we make in the summer to make it through the winter with maybe a few deposits too. We’re worried about next year though too because we’ve already had our first cancellations.
“They need to get the support right second time round for the second wave. I’m always looking for funds we’re eligible for but can’t find anything, we keep falling through the cracks.”
Mr Ne a l e’s case has already been raised with the Scottish Government’s rural economy and tourism minister Fergus Ewing by Mo r a y MSP Richard Lochhead.
However, no additional support, beyond the funds he is ineligible for, has been made available apart from some adjustments to the tax he is liable to pay.
Mr Neale added: “One of the issues I’ve noticed is that some of the funds have been asking for three or six-month cash flows.
“It completely ignores seasonal businesses like mine, not that I’ve been eligible for them anyway, and the fact coronavirus is going to be a long- term thing.
“We’re just trying to stay positive and hope we get one or two deposits in to make it through the winter.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said businesses similar to Mr Ne a l e’s had been supported so far.
He said: “Apart from the hardship fund, B&Bs on the non-domestic rates valuation roll which also met the qualifying criteria could have been be eligible for £ 10,000 and £ 25,000 grants.
“We are doing everything with the powers we have to help businesses, offering support which now exceeds £ 2.3 billion, including 100% rates relief for pubs and restaurants for the year.
“The strategic framework published sets out a new approach to business support from November 2 to support businesses that are required to close or modify their operations by law.
“We would like to have the flexibility to go further but we are constrained by the fact that most of the key financial powers are reserved to the UK Government.”