Moray businesses let down by Scottish Government scheme says MP and councillors
Moray MP Douglas Ross has expressed astonishment after a Scottish Government minister confirmed that out of 12,000 Scottish businesses taking advantage of a national business scheme only 44 were based in Moray.
The Moray MP wrote to the Scottish Government after Councillor Claire Feaver (Conservative – Forres Ward) raised concerns that Moray was being short-changed by the Supplier Development Programme which is financially supported by the Scottish Government.
After receiving a response from Scottish Government Minister, Jamie Hepburn, Douglas said: “Serious concerns were raised about this programme and I wanted to highlight these with the Scottish Government, but the Minister’s response was even worse than I expected. I’m astonished that an area like Moray, which has so many Small and Medium Enterprises, gets so little help from a scheme that is paid for by taxpayers from across all of Scotland.
“The Scottish Government have set up this scheme to assist businesses but it seems the majority that benefit are in the central belt rather than in Moray. We consistently have to remind the SNP that Scotland extends beyond Glasgow and Edinburgh. SMEs in Moray should benefit from this as much as others around the country, after all it is funded by taxpayers across Scotland but the benefits seem far more regionalised and once again Moray and the North East is missing out.”
Councillor Feaver said: “I was very concerned when this subject was discussed at a meeting of Moray Council’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee. I asked the council officers why Moray is only an associate member of the SDP and was told that the programme only really operated in the Central Belt and there was little point in us becoming a full member because businesses in Moray would not be properly supported. Once again, it is one rule for Moray and another for the Central Belt when it comes to support from Holyrood.”
Councillor Maria McLean (Elgin City North Ward), the Conservative lead on the Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee, said: “The future prosperity of Moray is dependent on growing our smaller businesses. There are opportunities for local enterprises, such as that provided by the continued investment at RAF Lossiemouth, but they need support to take advantage of them otherwise the contracts may be taken by competitors from elsewhere. Claire and I plan to pursue this issue at the Council to see whether there are ways to prevent our businesses missing out. Having just one-third of 1% of Scottish companies based in Moray in the SDP is simply ridiculous.”