BUSINESSES struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic will be handed an extra £185 million in the new year, the Scottish Government has announced.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes told Holyrood that funding already passed onto the Scottish Government from Westminster will now be allocated - but £300 million of the previously unallcoated £2.2 billion will be held back as "contingency".

Ms Forbes said the £185 million pot of funding will be handed out on a “sector by sector basis so that it is appropriately targeted”.

Hospitality businesses, such as pubs and restaurants, will also be offered one-off payments of either £2,000 or £3,000 in January to help them mitigate the traditional post-Christmas dip in demand.

She said: “Today I am pleased to confirm an allocation of £185 million for new and additional business support in the new year. We have listened to businesses and this assistance will be provided on a sector-by-sector basis, targeted at those who need it most.

“We are developing grant schemes for hospitality, for the events sector, live music and cultural venues, for the arts, indoor football centres and for the food and drink sector, including £1.8 million for brewers.”

Ms Forbes added: “We will give £1.5 million to travelling show people ineligible for other support, while a new £19 million fund, plus a one-off grant, will help taxi drivers.

"I can also announce that further support of £60 million will be provided to the tourism sector, details of which will be developed in consultation with the industry.

“I am listening to the needs of business and we will continue to review and refine our Covid-19 support offer within the available resources.”

Ms Forbes has written to the UK Treasury, calling for Scotland to receive its share of rates relief reimbursed by supermarkets “to ensure this is spent on those areas hardest hit as part of Scotland’s recovery from Covid-19”.

Included in the funding is £15 million for the wedding sector and supply chains including photographers, one-off grants totalling £15 million for mobile close contact services, such as hairdressers and a £19 million fund and one-off grants for taxi drivers.

A £5 million fund will be made available to travel agents along with almost £6 million for coach companies and tour operators and £1.5 million for visitor attractions.

The Scottish Government has also made £1.5 million available to “travelling show people ineligible of other support”.

The UK Government has made £8.2 billion of extra funding available to Scotland to cover the costs and needs of hte pandemic, but £2.2 billion had remained unallocated.

As well as the £185 million business support funding, £600 million will be allocated to health and social care costs and welfare support, including vaccines, test and trace systems and to pay for the £500 bonuses for health and social care workers.

Ms Forbes said as part of the previosuly unallocated funding, £570 million has been made avaialble including businesses impacted by the Scottish Government's tiered framework, local business support packages and self-employed hardship funds. 

Previously announced extra funding for local government is also included in the allocation, with Ms Forbes stressing it "brings the overall support package to councils to more than £1 billion".

She added that around £500 million has also been allocated to "support transport services as well as to cover pandemic-related income shortfalls within organisations such as Police Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services".

She added: "That leaves just over £300 million of Covid-19 resource consequentials formally unallocated.

"The nature of the Covid-19 outbreak and the potential asks for further demand-led spend means it's crucial that this funding is held as contingency.

"We must also consider any further funding  requirements relating to the end of the EU transition period on December 31 with costs wholly dependent on the final deal negotiated by the UK Government."