That the Parliament notes that many businesses affected by the pandemic restrictions have been able to access Scottish Government support grants totalling more than £2.3 billion, including the Strategic Framework Business Fund, and welcomes the additional financial support that will be made available through the £15 million second phase of the Newly Self-employed Hardship Fund and the £30 million Local Authority Discretionary Fund; welcomes the use of Barnett consequentials to provide this support for businesses and jobs, alongside other forms of support from the UK Government such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme; recognises that the Scottish Government will continue to review and refine the COVID grant offer, within available resources, with a view to ensuring that businesses can access the support that they need over the winter and notes that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance will set out how additional funding will support businesses and their employees; welcomes the repayment of rates relief by supermarkets and calls for other businesses who can do so to follow this example and for this resource to be allocated to the devolved governments to enable the provision of further support for businesses and their workforces; understands the need for workers to be supported through the current period and commends the Coronavirus (COVID-19): fair work statement, which has been jointly endorsed by the Scottish Government, STUC, COSLA, SCVO, IoD Scotland and SCDI to employers; recognises that the Scottish Government will only be able to deliver the certainty sought by Scottish businesses in terms of extending rates relief for hospitality, leisure and retail businesses into 2021-22 with consequential funding from an equivalent investment by the UK Government due to the lack of fiscal powers and flexibilities devolved to the Scottish Parliament, and endorses the Finance and Constitution Committee’s unanimously-agreed pre-budget scrutiny report, which recommends that the Treasury should consider providing the devolved governments with greater access to borrowing in emergency situations, such as the current crisis, to allow them to tailor their own spend and policy response to the pandemic and economic recovery.
Result 94 for, 28 against, 0 abstained, 7 did not vote Vote Passed
Scottish National Party
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Scottish Labour
Scottish Green Party
Scottish Liberal Democrats
Independent
No Party Affiliation
That the Parliament notes that too many businesses affected by the pandemic restrictions have been unable to access support grants; calls for the Scottish Government to undertake a rapid review into grant eligibility with a view to ensuring that businesses can access the support that they need over the winter; further calls on the Scottish Government to provide certainty for businesses next year by committing to extending the non-domestic rates poundage freeze and the rates relief for hospitality, leisure and retail businesses into 2021-22, and calls on it to establish a coronavirus business advisory council.
Submitted by: Jamie Hepburn, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Supported by: Kate Forbes, Fiona Hyslop, Ben Macpherson, Ivan McKee
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Result 71 for, 31 against, 22 abstained, 5 did not vote Vote Passed
Submitted by: Willie Rennie, North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Date lodged: Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Submitted by: Alex Rowley, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour, Date lodged: Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, December 9, 2020