Call for Holyrood to help self-employed

People in West Lothian who are selfemployed need more help in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

There are over 10,200 self-employed in the county, official figures analysed by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) reveal. That’s almost as many as in Midlothian and East Lothian combined.

And the organisation is calling on the MSPs who were elected on May 6 to do more to support them.

The small business campaign group is warning that the covid crisis has hit the self-employed hard and that West Lothian MSPs returned at the election must work to protect this vital group.

Scotland-wide FSB research reveals that three-fifths of business owners in Scotland say that the covid crisis has made self-employment less attractive. Around a third of small businesses were forced to close during the crisis, and thousands of Scottish firms have taken on billions of pounds of government-backed debt.

FSB wants the new administration at Holyrood to pilot a new collective insurance approach for self-employed individuals who could not otherwise access sick pay. They also want policymakers in Edinburgh to provide maternity, paternity and adoption payments to the selfemployed via Social Security Scotland.

Whitburn business owner, Jacqueline Dick, has seen the damage caused by the covid crisis and supports FSB’s policies.

Jacqueline said:“My business has been closed for the best part of eight months as a result of covid restrictions and, whilst I’m looking forward to reopening soon, the road to recovery will be tough.

“That’s why I’m looking for my MSPs to work hard for people like me. A new pilot scheme to help the small business owners collectively protect their interests sounds like a great place to start.”

The local and independent business membership body also wants the next Scottish Government to deliver a Small Business Recovery Act. These new laws would be designed to ensure smaller firms win a fair share of public contracts. They would also establish a new small business advisor team at the heart of government.

Garry Clark, FSB’s development manager for the east of Scotland, said: “The events of the last year-and-a-half have undermined the strength of self-employed people and the small business community in West Lothian. That’s a real concern, because it’ll be these same operators who will be vital to turning around local economies of places like Livingston and Linlithgow.

“No matter the colour of their rosette, we’re looking for candidates to pledge to help to get these local firms back on their feet. We need our next local representatives at Holyrood to do everything in their power to give our vital local businesses a fighting chance.”