Douglas Ross has urged the Scottish Government to “stop delaying” the delivery of vital support to businesses in Moray after it was revealed that just seven of 30 funds have launched.
A Cosla document obtained by the Scottish Conservatives show some of the financial support schemes that were promised by SNP Ministers will not launch until February or March.
The latest statistics show as little as £6million of new funding announced since late October has reached businesses. None of the £185million announced on December 9 has been delivered and it is unclear how much of a £30million discretionary fund launched on October 21 has been paid out.
New figures released by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) have also shown that business confidence in Scotland has plummeted.
Scottish Conservative MP for Moray Douglas Ross said:
“Businesses across Moray have been forced to close their doors again due to the latest Covid-19 lockdown.
“People accept this has to happen for public health reasons, but businesses and their employees also need financial support from government to stay afloat.
“So far, the SNP government has been good at announcing funds for businesses, but not very good at actually getting the money out the door.
“These figures show that very little of the money promised has actually found its way to local businesses here in Moray or anywhere else in Scotland.
“That is not good enough. There are livelihoods at stake here. SNP Ministers must stop delaying and get this financial support delivered.
“The Scottish Conservatives have put forward proposals to get funding to businesses now.
“A 10-day turnaround guarantee and expanding the grants available would be a welcome first-step towards restoring business confidence.”