SMALL B&BS SET TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SUPPORT FUND

Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MSP Alasdair Allan has welcomed the inclusion of small B&Bs into the Scottish Government Business Support Fund.

Small B&Bs, who were ineligible for other support due to not having a business bank account, will be able to apply for a share of £3 million of funding which has been re-purposed from the Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund.

This funding for small B&Bs will be administered by local authorities and applications are expected to open on 15 June.

Alasdair Allan MSP commented:

“This is a very welcome and important expansion of the Scottish Government’s Business Support Fund.

“B&Bs are a major part of the tourism sector in the Western Isles and I have been raising with Scottish Ministers the fact that too many of them have been falling through the cracks.

“While this funding will obviously not replace income lost as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on this year’s tourist season, I hope it does go some way towards helping island B&Bs.”