Media playback is unsupported in your system Media captionScotland Workplace Minister Iain Stewart and Scotti
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Scotland’s tourism sector will want “long-term assist” to get better from the financial affect of Covid-19.
Tourism Secretary Fergus Ewing stated this included extending the furlough scheme past October.
He additionally urged the UK authorities to chop VAT to five% because the sector prepares to reopen on 15 July.
However Scotland Workplace minister Iain Stewart stated the Scottish authorities ought to be “extra bold” on reviving the economic system by autumn.
Final month Chancellor Rishi Sunak prolonged the UK scheme – which pays the wages of employees on go away due to coronavirus – to October.
- Coronavirus: Scottish tourism sector may reopen on 15 July
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Mr Sunak confirmed that workers would proceed to obtain 80% of their month-to-month wages as much as £2,500 however the authorities would ask firms to “begin sharing” the price of the scheme from August.
However Mr Ewing has known as for added help to get companies via the low season.
Talking on the BBC’s Politics Scotland programme, Mr Ewing stated: “We do suppose that the help which is able to expire in October will probably be inadequate to attain the first goal right here which is to mitigate monetary hardship for companies who, in the meanwhile, haven’t any income however mounted overheads which proceed to be paid.
“Our evaluation of the impacts on tourism, even after resumption, which we hope would be the 15th of July in Scotland, will probably be so extreme that long-term assist will probably be required.”
Mr Ewing stated in international locations reminiscent of France, Italy and Spain “monumental packages” of monetary help had been made obtainable.
“We do imagine that the UK might want to look once more, and really critically, on the nature and extent of help which may embody a lower of VAT charge to five%, which I imagine is an method that different international locations within the EU are taking,” he stated.
‘Fairly draconian’
Mr Ewing stated he had had “constructive dialogue” with the UK tourism minister, Nigel Huddleston, and remained “hopeful” further help might be agreed.
He advised the programme this was particularly vital because the tourism season sometimes ran from April to September and companies would want assist throughout the quieter winter months.
The minister added: “To chop off help for when the season ends, from out viewpoint, appears fairly draconian.”
The tourism secretary stated he remained optimistic companies would have the ability to reopen on 15 July, until there was a second wave of infections or a localised unfold.
New steering was revealed final week for companies and clients forward of buying and selling resuming for the primary time in nearly 4 months.
On the identical programme, Scotland Workplace Minister Iain Stewart was requested if the Treasury was ready to increase the job retention scheme previous its October cut-off.
He didn’t immediately reply the query about Treasury discussions, however replied: “I feel the main focus of the Scottish authorities ought to be a bit extra bold to verify the economic system is getting up and working by the autumn.”
Mr Stewart additionally stated it was “not useful to give attention to that particular scheme past October”.