'Little Christmas cheer' in Budget, says Caithness business leader
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Hospitality businesses in the rural north feel abandoned while their counterparts on the islands will receive 100 per cent rates relief, a Caithness business leader has said.
Trudy Morris, chief executive of the Caithness Chamber of Commerce, was reacting to the Scottish Budget delivered on Tuesday by deputy first minister and finance secretary Shona Robison.
The SNP minister announced that businesses with premises valued below £51,000 would have their rates frozen, while hospitality businesses on the Scottish islands would be given 100 per cent rates relieve up to the value of £110,000.
Ms Morris argued that similar businesses in rural areas on the mainland were in the same position but had been left without equitable help.
She said: "The Scottish Budget has failed to give much Christmas cheer. We had hoped to see a Scottish Government Budget that prioritised investment and business support. Instead, many sectors in the business community will feel neglected and disappointed.
“We appreciate it is a challenging fiscal landscape, however rural mainland communities such as ours in the north Highlands will once again feel abandoned.
"Businesses will welcome the freezing of the poundage rate but the support for business rates has not gone far enough. It is staggering that hospitality businesses based on the islands will receive 100 per cent rates relief and yet none of our hospitality businesses, who deserve the same support, will.
“These businesses are still dealing with the consequences of Covid, and the challenges of inflation, high energy costs and recruitment and staff retention. We call on the Scottish Government to give equitable support across the industry.”
Ms Morris also welcomed news of the commitment to commence the dualling of the A9.
However, she added: “For the far north there are no plans to improve the A9 north [of Inverness] and we still don’t have the breakdown of the transport budget to see if there is anything that will improve or even maintain our transport infrastructure, and we wait to see the detail of this.”
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) described the decision not to pass on targeted reliefs for sectors under particular pressure as “a missed opportunity”.
The small business body said not reintroducing targeted reliefs for small firms in retail, hospitality and leisure has put more at risk of closure.
The FSB’s Highlands and Islands development manager, David Richardson, said: “Highlands and Islands members will be delighted that the all-important Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) relief hasn’t been tinkered with. We know just how important this is to our members, particularly at this time of rapidly escalating costs, and it is imperative that it’s not eroded further.
“We’re also pleased that the cabinet secretary has listened to the call from a broad coalition of business organisations and frozen the main poundage rate.
“However, the Highlands and Islands as a whole has a visitor-based economy, and many tourism, hospitality and retail businesses are currently skating on very thin ice, their margins cut to the bone. Sadly, the Scottish Government missed a golden opportunity to replicate the targeted reliefs afforded to small traders south of the border.”
Mr Richardson welcomed the support for the islands, saying there were particular pressures facing rural businesses. “We know that challenges around skills shortages, for example, are especially acute for our rural and remote members,” he added.
