SCOTLAND is to receive a virus fighting fund of £780m, the UK Government has announced.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the cash is to ensure health services, businesses and the public have the resources needed to tackle Covid-19.
Wales and Northern Ireland will also receive financial support of £475m and £260m respectively, calculated via the Barnett formula.
It is on top of the support being given through the UK Government to cover some employers' bills for statutory sick pay which will apply from the first day of absence, and the loans to businesses affected.
During last week's budget the Chancellor said that firms with fewer than 250 employees would have the first 14 days of statutory sick pay covered by Westminster.
Announcing the latest funding, Sunak said: "We will do what is right to help businesses and individuals in every part of the UK. That is why we announced a special funding package at the Budget last week to support those affected by Covid-19.
“Today I am confirming this additional funding that will ensure the devolved administrations can support vulnerable people, businesses and vital public services, including the NHS, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
Scottish Secretary, Alister Jack, added: "The UK and Scottish Governments are working closely together in the fight against Covid - 19 as we do all we can to delay the spread and alleviate pressure on our public services, people and businesses.
“The £780 million for the Scottish Government announced today is in addition to the £1.9 billion spending increase for 2020-21 confirmed at the Budget last week. This will help ensure the Scottish Government has the resources it needs to support those affected by Covid-19.”
In total, devolved administrations are receiving at least £1.5bn, which is factored in to the government's £12bn direct response plan announced last week.
Donald Cameron, Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary said the Scottish Government must ringfence the funds for Covid-19 related measures only.
He said: "We are in no doubt of the significant impact of Covid-19 on our society, economy and our public services.
“This substantial £780m funding package from the UK government will help Scotland prepare for, and mitigate, the effects of this global pandemic.
“Given the extreme and widespread impact of this health crisis, the entire £780m must be ringfenced for Covid-19 by the Scottish government.
“In addition, the Scottish government should follow the UK government’s lead and establish a Response Fund for the NHS and other public services to alleviate any funding concerns.
“We know that the tourism and retail sectors are hardest hit right now, and special support should be directed to them as an urgent priority.
“Everyone agrees this is going to be a very difficult time for our economy and our health service – we can, and must, focus financial support where it is needed most.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel