The Scottish first minister and leader of the SNP Nicola Sturgeon has been urged to match the British Government’s support for businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, last month announced emergency funds to help businesses maintain cash flow during the pandemic, providing grants of up to £25,000 for every property operated by a business in England and Wales.
Fiona Hyslop, SNP Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, said the Scottish government “will be replicating [the UK Government’s] package of measures in full” after Mr Sunak issued £2.3 billion for devolved administrations.
However, the very next day the Scottish administration published its grant application form which only permitted the grant to be awarded per business, not for each property owned by a business meaning many businesses that operate in Scotland with various properties would have been entitled to more funded if the process was not relegated to the Scottish government.
Owners of small business chains warned that lack of funding would be “potentially ruinous” for hundreds of small businesses across the country.
Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Donald Cameron said the SNP government needs to address this disparity “as a matter of urgency”.
He said: “With every day that goes by without that pledge, the future becomes a little more bleak for firms across the country.
“The case has been made very clear, now the Scottish Government needs to mirror the support from the UK Government on this specific matter.
“They will have been very disappointed to hear Nicola Sturgeon dodge this matter at her daily briefing.”
Yesterday (10/04/20) the First Minister was asked whether she will review the current funding model after numerous small businesses warned they could be forced to close for good.
“We will continue to keep all these things under review,” Ms Sturgeon said, before claiming that her administration was trying to help “as many businesses as possible”.
Analysis:
The SNP have let down many businesses that have been forced to close their doors, after Fiona Hyslop, SNP Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture said the Scottish Government would “be replicating” the British Governments plans that is exactly what should have happened.
Unfortunately, it would seem that in various cases the SNP Government wants to differ in some cases slightly in other a lot from the UK Government’s ways of doing things just for the sake of trying to be different.
I personally fear the SNP have gone too far with this and the lack of governmental intervention via funding support could lead to an even further weakening of the Scottish economy, just how long will businesses with numerous locations need to suffer? Until its too late and the door are shut for good?
If the British Government chooses to intervene, I am certain Scottish businesses welcome the intercession.
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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