STA responds to Chancellor’s announcement of support for the self employed

The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) welcomes the announcement of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme today; this will offer huge comfort to the many people in our industry who have been waiting for days to find out how they will be supported by the government in more equitable way.

We have been inundated with enquiries from tour guides, chefs, coach drivers, small bed and breakfast owners and others within the industry over the past week and have actively campaigned, raising this as a priority issue in our daily conversations with the Scottish and UK governments.

In our view, this is a fair measure to take, however we realise that for a good number of people working in the industry, for example those who split part time employed work with self-employment and those who have only recently entered self-employment, this may not offer the desired solution.

There will also be many who are in need of a source of income now, not all of whom will be eligible for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme therefore we would urge the UK government to bring forward the introduction of this welcomed Support Scheme as soon as is possible. The process importantly, must be easy for all and speed is of the essence.