Extra £41m in support for businesses forced to close

The Scottish Government has made an additional £41m of support available for non-essential retail and gyms, who were required to close from Boxing Day.

Finance secretary Kate Forbes said the money would help non-essential businesses affected by the level four lockdown restrictions, which came into place from December 26.

This is in addition to the £570m support package which has been available since November.

Businesses that are required to close or modify their operations by law can apply for a Temporary Closure Grant or a Business Restrictions Grant through their local authority website. Grants of up to £3000 are available for every four weeks of restrictions, payable in arrears while restrictions last.

Non-essential retail and gyms will be given up to an additional £3000 and can claim this funding through their local authority website if they have not already submitted an application.

The cap on the maximum support available through the Strategic Framework Business Fund will also be lifted from January 1 for businesses that operate from multiple premises.

Ms Forbes said: “With mainland Scotland now entering level four, the Strategic Framework Business Fund is already open to businesses required to close or modify their operations by law.

“In recognition of the substantial increase in the number of businesses eligible for support, I have provided additional financial resources of £7m to local authorities to upscale operations and streamline grants.

“Work is already under way to ensure businesses get support as quickly as possible.

“I recently announced a top up grant to hospitality businesses, and today I can confirm that a further top up grant will be provided to non-essential retail businesses and gyms.

“Since March the Scottish Government has allocated more than £2.3bn to business support and more than £1.2bn to economic recovery.

“On top of the additional £570m package of support announced at the start of this month, these changes will manage that increased demand, accelerating the grant application process and in turn getting these essential payments to businesses as quickly as possible.

“We welcome the news of further consequentials and will set out shortly how these will be utilised to meet the needs of business. It is likely that a significant amount will be used to meet the substantial increase in businesses applying to the Strategic Framework Business Fund at level four.”