The Finance Secretary has allocated the final tranche of a funding package designed to tackle the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
Leading a debate on the final stage of the Budget (Scotland) Bill at Holyrood on Thursday, Kate Forbes announced £39.5m of funding designed to “provide a bridge from resilience to recovery”.
The cash – which will be used to support the events, tourism, childcare and small business sectors – will be paid before the end of the financial year.
Forbes told MSPs: “One of our key objectives in this Budget was economic recovery – and if households are struggling, so too are some businesses.
“As the chamber will be aware, this government is committed to maximising our Covid recovery support for businesses.
“As part of this I previously announced the allocation of £276m of Omicron business support funding for the current financial year.
“Following consultation with businesses, who asked for support to now focus on economic recovery, I am pleased to announce today the allocation of further funding to support business sector recovery, including events and travel.”
Major events and the culture sector will be given £16m in funding to counter cancellations incurred by the pandemic.
A further £7.5m will be given to tour operators, with the aim of driving economic recovery in tourist hotspots across the country, while £3.5m in funding will be passed to travel agents – which the Finance Secretary said had faced “near-continuous” restrictions due to the pandemic.
Another £3m will be used for city centre recovery in a bid to improve footfall, and the same amount will be given to small businesses to help them to “digitalise”, the Finance Secretary said.
Some £6.5m will also be paid to the childcare sector to deliver one-off grants to businesses.
Video Unavailable
Andrew McRae, chair of the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland, called for more help for firms that will be hit by rising energy costs.
“The Scottish Government is right to focus on recovery, and we’re pleased to see new Covid grant support announced for operators that have had little or no help so far,” he said.
“One of the few bright spots over the last two years has been the number of smaller Scottish operators that built their digital skills to survive the pandemic.
“New cash for their popular and successful DigitalBoost programme is a savvy choice that’ll help many firms get ready for the future.
“However, today’s announcements do little to shield the bulk of Scotland’s smallest firms against punishing increases in energy bills,” he added. “Governments in Edinburgh and London can’t leave local and independent firms to fend for themselves in a market that doesn’t care about the sacrifices of the last two years.”
Forbes also confirmed a £290m package of support for people affected by the soaring cost of living, including £150 council tax rebates for eligible households.
All households in bands A to D will receive the payment or discount from their council tax bill, as will those in other bands who already qualify for reduced rates.
Ms Forbes said it means 73% of Scottish households – about 1.85 million people – would receive the money.
But she admitted it is an “imperfect scheme” and does not go far enough to support Scots hit by rising energy bills.
“In terms of the challenges that we face right now, I think the measures that we have outlined will only go so far,” she said.
Opening the stage three debate of the Scottish Budget, Forbes estimated that the energy price cap rise of almost £700 “could move a further 211,000 households into fuel poverty, and around 235,000 households who were already fuel poor into extreme fuel poverty”.
However, Chris Birt, associate director for Scotland at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, commented: “By largely copying the approach of the Chancellor, the Scottish Government has repeated his mistakes and provided cold comfort for families on low incomes in Scotland.
“While many people currently living in poverty will receive this small payment, many more people who are not in poverty will too, meaning the available funds are spread far too thinly.
“£150 will barely touch the sides of the gaping hole in many low-income households’ budgets, many of whom are already facing hunger, anxiety and debt.”
Don’t miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter – sign up here for free.
