The Scottish Government has announced that support for the newly self-employed and firms suffering hardship will open for applications by the end of April, to be paid in early May. The £100 million fund to support self-employed and SME’s will be broken in three separate funds:

• £34m towards the Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund, issued through £2000 grants by local authorities
• £20m Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund managed by the Enterprise Agencies in partnership with Creative Scotland and VisitScotland for creative, tourism and hospitality companies not in receipt of business rates relief
• £45 million Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, managed by the Enterprise Agencies for vulnerable SME firms who are vital to the local or national economic foundations of Scotland

Fiona Hyslop, the Economy Secretary, said:

“This funding is intended to relieve the hardship of individuals and smaller firms that are ineligible for support from the UK Government or are not in receipt yet of the funds they need to survive.

Our hospitality, tourism and creative sectors have been decimated by this crisis and previously profitable businesses have seen demand dry up overnight.

However, because of the decisions the Scottish Government has taken, thousands more self-employed people and small businesses will be able to benefit from support compared with elsewhere, and we have been able to help sectors of the economy that are not being supported in other parts of the UK.  

As well as dealing with this immediate crisis, we must look to the future. We must ensure that those businesses with a part to play in strengthening resilience in Scotland’s economy survive this crisis and thrive in future, which is why £45 million is being allocated to those firms.

We continue to engage with businesses on a regular basis to understand their needs and press the UK Government to deliver for them.”

‍