Covid-19 Archives - Page 4 of 63

PQ: Small Rural Businesses (Support)

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Fiona Campbell

Rachael Hamilton (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) asked the following question in Parliament last week: To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support small rural businesses (S6O-00621).

The Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise (Ivan McKee): Our enterprise agencies and Business Gateway provide a range of advice and funding to small rural businesses.

In addition, we are providing £375 million of funding, targeted at the hardest hit sectors, to businesses impacted by the current additional public health measures. We are working to make payments to affected businesses as soon as possible.

Information on the support available to businesses is available on the Find Business Support website, which is updated daily.

Rachael Hamilton: With its introduction of a licensing scheme, the Scottish National Party is about to put a wrecking ball through the rural short-term letting industry. Some organisations have quit the SNP Government’s working group. In a recent parliamentary survey, more than 60 per cent of respondents said that the scheme will drive up costs for small short-term letting businesses.

Rural organisations such as the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, Scottish Agritourism and the NFU Scotland have all voiced concerns about the impact of this reckless scheme. Is it not time for the SNP to stand up for Scotland’s rural businesses?

Ivan McKee: We do stand up for rural businesses across Scotland. I have outlined the steps that we are taking to support businesses through the current difficult situation and beyond.

Regarding short-term lets, the licensing scheme seeks to ensure that every short-term let in Scotland meets basic safety standards. I am sure that the member will agree that that is important in urban and rural areas and for large and small businesses. Our proposals deliver national consistency on safety standards by giving local authorities flexibility to tailor the scheme to local needs. Residents in some areas are continuing to experience issues caused by short-term lets and it is right that we are taking proportionate action to give local authorities the ability to take measures in that regard.

I have met many of the organisations that the member mentioned and have listened to their concerns. We have addressed some of those concerns in the legislation that my colleague Shona Robison is taking forward. We believe, for all the reasons that I have indicated, that that is the right measure.

Press Release: Self-Caterers Snubbed by Scottish Government Business Support

Posted on January 12, 2022 by Fiona Campbell

Scotland’s self-catering businesses have slammed the Scottish Government’s decision to exclude them from its latest round of COVID-19 support.

The latest snub from the government comes as some hotels and hostels have become eligible for business support funding, while self-caterers, as well as guest houses and B&Bs, have once again been left adrift.

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers have strongly criticised the decision and have accused Nicola Sturgeon’s government of failing to live up to its claim that it is “supporting the tourism sector.”

Self-caterers have been among the businesses hardest hit by the pandemic and also face the damaging prospect of working under the Scottish Government’s cumbersome licensing scheme, restrictive planning control areas, and the possibility of a tourism levy in the future.

According to an ASSC survey, over 70 percent of self-caterers reported a negative impact on their business caused by Omicron restrictions announced in early December, with more than 65 percent experiencing financial losses as a result. 73 percent of larger self-catering properties have been directly impacted by the advice to limit households to three.

Moreover, many operators are now facing real questions about the viability of their businesses, with 61 percent saying that they are concerned about the future.

The ASSC has reiterated its calls for the Scottish Government to adequately address the concerns of self-caterers, which are shared by many other small businesses in Scottish tourism and others, and to prioritise a sustainable recovery.

Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers Chief Executive, Fiona Campbell, said:

“Excluding self-catering businesses from this latest round of financial support is both deeply hurtful to many small businesses who fear for their future and demonstrates the paucity of the government’s commitment to ‘supporting the tourism sector’ in Scotland.

“Self-caterers have been repeatedly ignored and fobbed off by this government and this latest snub hits all the harder given the other restrictive proposals, like licensing, control areas, and a tourism levy, that are currently in the works.

“The ASSC is once again calling on the Scottish Government to take action, quickly and decisively, or run the risk of thousands of small businesses, vital to the health of Scotland’s tourism industry, vanishing altogether.”

ENDS

First Minister’s Statement 11th January 2022

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Fiona Campbell

During her COVID-19 update today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon covered the following (11/01/22):

The FM confirmed that 10,392 new cases of COVID-19 had been identified in the last 24 hours. She also confirmed that 1,479 people were in hospital. She also noted that there were 65 people in ICUs and that 16 deaths had occurred, bringing the total to 9,950.
Prior to the FM getting to her feet, the Presiding Officer commented negatively on the leaking of the statement to the press that had taken place. The FM said that an inquiry would take place.
The FM argued that there was grounds for “cautious optimism” but noted that the effectiveness of the measures in place over Christmas allowed for the government to reduce some of them.
The FM outlined that hospitality measures would remain in place for another week but that the cabinet was hopeful that they may be lifted after its next meeting.
The FM noted that the limit on outdoor venues, including stadiums, would be lifted next week with organisers continuing to check vaccine passports in an extended way and spectators requiring a booster jag to attend.
The FM updated MSPs on the in-development strategic framework which would allow the country to “live with” the virus, saying that she intended to publish it in the next few weeks.
The FM closed by reiterating the requirements in place and urged Scots to follow them.
Scottish Conservative leader criticised the FM for continuing the vaccine passport scheme and asked for the evidence behind the expanded checking of vaccine passports and when indoor sports would see their rules relaxed. The FM accused Mr Ross of picking and choosing which measures he believed worked. Labour leader Anas Sarwar criticised the FM for not releasing data on the Omicron variant and asked her to set out trigger points for restrictions and support in her strategic framework. The FM said that the government was publishing data every day and said she would present her approach to parliament at the time. She also urged against using fixed triggers. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton raised the plight of hospitality venues and sports venues who now have only a few days to sort themselves out for attendance and in terms of vaccine passports; he also urged the FM to put in place more support for long COVID cases. Tory Health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane noted that the National Clinical Director had been reported as saying that measures impacting sports and other venues had had little impact and called for the FM to publish all the data the cabinet uses to make its decisions. The FM reiterated that the data was being published and insinuated that the National Clinical Directors words were being misquoted. SNP MSP Kenny Gibson asked what the Scottish Government could do to help independent travel agents. The FM said that she would continue to do everything she could and acknowledges the difficulties those companies had endured.