Travel agents in Scotland have given a cautious welcome to news they will be able to access emergency funding for individual branches following a partial U-turn by Scottish ministers.
Agencies in Scotland have so far only been allowed to claim one grant per business of £25,000, rather than £25,000 per branch as is the case for the rest of the UK.
But Scottish government ministers have now committed a further £120 million to the emergency grant scheme, allowing companies to apply for 100% funding of £25,000 on a company’s first property and for a further 75% grant on all subsequent properties.
Agents broadly welcomed the news but called for grants of £25,000 for every branch, not a 75% grant, so that it is in line with the rest of the UK.
The Scottish Passenger Agents, Association president Joanne Dooey said: “I personally welcome the news announced yesterday, although I still do not feel it goes far enough.
“Why only 75% when England gets it all? Why has the Scottish government not just done what Westminster has done?”
She said the grant application system also remained more complicated in Scotland than in England.
She said: “There are far too many hoops to go through when the English one is so simple and everyone gets it.
“I have, alongside the SPAA, been fighting this from day one when we saw the clear inconsistency of what small businesses in Scotland were getting compared to businesses down south. We had the backing of several MSPs who did help in our fight.
“It is being left to local councils, who are not reacting quickly enough, and are sticking to the guidelines sent by the Scottish government, which are not very clear.”
She said it remained unclear whether her own three-branch agency Love To Travel would receive any funding, as the individual rateable values of her shops do not reach the required threshold for the Small Business Bonus Scheme.
But she added: “My own situation is still not clear if I will receive anything at all but at least some of our agents who have multiple shops in Scotland are now getting something for all shops,”
Jacqueline Dobson, president of Barrhead Travel, said: “We were pleased to see that additional grants will be made available from the Scottish Government to retail businesses like Barrhead Travel.
“While the grants will make a difference to supporting our business over the coming months, we do still believe that the right approach would be to offer like-for-like grants to ensure Scottish businesses have the same support as the rest of the UK.”
The U-turn follows weeks of criticism of the government by Scottish businesses. The SPAA had launched an urgent appeal to the Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon to address the ‘inequality’ of the situation.
The SPAA had said Scottish agents were at a serious disadvantage and hundreds could collapse because they cannot access the same government financial support as the rest of the UK.
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