Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Tourism, Jamie Halcro Johnston, has accused SNP ministers of prioritising a new independence task force over support for local businesses.
The Scottish Conservative Highlands and Islands MSP said the Scottish Government’s record of getting financial support to struggling businesses was appalling, claiming they were spending too much time during the Coronavirus pandemic setting up a new task force to push for another independence referendum.
Mr Halcro Johnston said MSP said: “The Scottish Government has delivered just £55 million of a promised £715 million of support for Scotland’s struggling businesses - an appalling record.
“But at the very same time that we learnt that SNP ministers had paid out less than a tenth of promised funding to businesses, we also learnt that they are spending their time making preparations in the hope of another referendum later this year.
“This is simply absurd when you consider that the Business Impact of Coronavirus Survey released last weekend indicates that 1 in 4 firms have ‘no or less than three months cash reserves’.
“I know from my own inbox that businesses across the Highlands and Islands are crying out for the promised financial support.
“For instance, self-caterers are being made to wait more than a month to find out exactly what support they’re going to get.
“What are they supposed to think when they see that senior ministers are more interested in talking about referendums than delivering the support their businesses - businesses closed down by decisions made by those very same SNP ministers in Edinburgh – so desperately needs to stay afloat.
“The SNP needs to drop their referendum obsession and focus on two things: getting vaccines into peoples’ arms and getting cash into the accounts of businesses that need help.”
