Question reference: S5W-31711
- Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 10 September 2020
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Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 September 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of businesses in Aberdeen that (a) were forced to close as a result of targeted local restrictions in August 2020 and (b) have been able to benefit from the support funding previously announced, and what it plans to do to support the businesses that were forced to close but will be unable to access support due to the limited size of the funds previously announced.
Answer
On 19 August 2020 we announced funding of £1 million to provide grants of £1,000 and £1,500 to businesses that were required to close as a result of targeted local restrictions in Aberdeen. This included £100,000 of discretionary support for sectors not required to close by the regulations. The funding is administered by Aberdeen City Council. The Council estimate that around 600 businesses were required to close as a result of the restrictions. As of 14 September 2020, 129 businesses directly affected by the restrictions had received grants to the value of £145,000 and a further 75 businesses had accessed grants through the discretionary fund to the value of £84,500. No businesses have been unable to access support due to the limited size of the funds.