Next phase of COVID-19 funding for Scottish businesses and self-employed

The second phase of funding for businesses and the self-employed is being made available by the Scottish Government, to help deal with the economic impact of COVID-19.

Around £220m of further grants are being made available for businesses, including £120m to extend the Small Business Grant scheme.

The remaining £100m will be made available to protect self-employed people and viable micro and SME businesses in distress due to COVID-19, which will be distributed through local authorities and enterprise agencies.

Applications for the £100m fund will be open by the end of April, and the new arrangements for the Small Business Grant will be in place to receive applications on 5 May.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes the funding “now exceeds the £2.2bn passed on from the UK Government and actively works to fill the gaps in the UK schemes”.

“The Scottish Government’s primary concern remains protecting people’s health, but it is still the case that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is having severe economic consequences for businesses around the country,” she said.

“We are doing everything we can to support business at this difficult time and we continue to listen to and engage with the sector.

“Around 100,000 businesses in total are already eligible for our small business grants and from today we will be extending that scheme in response to feedback from businesses on the frontline of this economic crisis.

“The creation of a £100m fund is to help those micro and SME businesses who face immediate cash flow challenges, are ineligible for other schemes and are the productive base for supporting employment in the future. It will also support those newly self-employed people who are also ineligible for UK schemes and will be a vital lifeline for many businesses and individuals across Scotland.”

However, Forbes asked that businesses who do not need to help to “refrain from claiming additional support unless absolutely necessary”.

“With UK Government support not being available until June, we are going further to secure the future economic viability of Scottish firms and applications will be open by the end of the month,” she said.

“While many businesses are in difficulty, some are doing better than others or can pull through from their own resources.

“Just as we ask the public only to buy what they need in the supermarkets, we are asking businesses who do not need this vital help to refrain from claiming additional support unless absolutely necessary so we can direct as much help as possible to those who need it most.”