Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 09 December 2020
We already have £1.3 billion in extra funding from the UK Government, and if the SNP had managed to grow the economy since 2007, we would have more cash right now. If it had not blown hundreds of millions of pounds on ferries, or if it had grown employment at the same rate as in the rest of the UK, we would have had 250,000 more jobs pre-Covid and far more cash in the bank to fund the extended relief.
I turn to the restrictions and the effect that they have had on businesses. We all understand the need for restrictions, but in recent weeks, we have seen individuals and businesses trying to follow the rules in the face of confusing, and often abrupt, instructions from the Scottish Government. For example, Perth and Kinross was put into level 3 with just over two days’ notice, and Midlothian was supposedly moving to level 2, only to be given just 12 hours’ notice that it was staying in level 3. It is worrying that the Scottish Government does not seem to understand that businesses cannot turn on a dime. How are they supposed to organise staff and stock and make other decisions with so little notice? We are calling for a week’s implementation period to give businesses a chance to adapt, and I repeat that call today.
I also urge ministers to give businesses a seat at the table when those decisions are made, and to carry businesses with them, rather than expecting businesses to fall into line.
The Scottish Conservatives’ proposals are commonsense measures. I remind members that it is it the UK Government that has saved nearly a million Scottish jobs, helped more than 79,000 Scottish businesses and boosted Scotland’s budget by £8.2 billion to fight the virus. There is no reason for the SNP not to support our proposals today—other than because they come from the Conservatives. The members opposite have to decide whether they want to score political points or save jobs.
I move,
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.
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