Michael Gove MP makes visit to Alness to hear how businesses are recovering from lockdown
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A SENIOR Government figure is in Alness today hearing about how businesses in the area are recovering from lockdown.
Michael Gove is due to host a hospitality summit at which he'll also flag how businesses are using support made available by the Westminster government.
Mr Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster , said the UK Treasury has been "pulling out all the stops" to help workers
and businesses the length and breadth of the country to help key sectors like tourism and hospitality.
Data from HMRC shows that in the Highland Council area there are 36,600 people being supported through the UK Job Retention Scheme and a further 8900 people receiving payments totalling £26.5 million from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
"I want to hear from those working in Highland hospitality what more can be done by the UK and Scottish Governments to help them welcome the world back to one of the most beautiful parts of the UK." - Michael Gove
Speaking ahead of the summit, he said: "It's great to be back home in Scotland this week meeting friends old and new. I'm delighted to be able to join [Easter Ross MP] Jamie Stone and help him in his great work to support the hospitality sector in the Highlands. And I'm looking forward to working with Douglas Ross and David Duguid as we explore the sea of opportunity opening up for the fishing sector as we leave the Common Fisheries Policy.
"As a boy growing up in Aberdeen and as a young reporter, I appreciated the special character of the north and north-east of Scotland. The values I learned living and working in this very special part of the United Kingdom - teamwork, solidarity, enterprise and community spirit - have never been more important.
“The UK Government is determined to do everything we can, working with the Scottish Government and others, to help Scotland's economy recover from the Covid pandemic. We are all stronger together. The hospitality sector is absolutely vital to the Highland economy - and to many other rural parts of the UK. That is why the UK Treasury has been pulling out all the stops to support workers and businesses the length and breadth of the UK. Billions of pounds have been paid out in wages or lent out on loans. Tax bills have been deferred and VAT has now been cut for the hospitality sector.
"From next week we are even going to be picking up some of your restaurant bill. We are using the full financial firepower of the UK Government to help hotels, bars, restaurants and other tourist attractions to weather this storm and build a recovery."
He went on: "I fully appreciate that the financial help of the Government needs to be combined with the ingenuity and hard work of the people on the ground in order to bounce back as strongly as possible. That is why I want to hear from those working in Highland hospitality what more can be done by the UK and Scottish Governments to help them welcome the world back to one of the most beautiful parts of the UK.”
