Self-caterers in Fife call for ‘fair’ financial support from Scottish Government

Last week, it was announced that self-catering businesses in Scotland could apply for the same grants as other small businesses, however, there would be extra conditions.

It must be proved that the property is each ratepayer’s primary source of income, that the property is let for at least 140 days in the 2019-20 financial year, and that grants will be restricted to one per ratepayer.

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) has argued that there is a lack of parity of support for other self-caters in the UK and that other businesses do not need to meet the conditions.

Maggie Picken, who runs a self-catering business on a farm just outside St Andrews, said the diversified business provides important income to help sustain the farm as a family business.

She said they are refunding customers who had taken out bookings, and need financial support.

“As a small family agri-tourism business all we are asking is that the Scottish Government treats us fairly and offer the same support to businesses as the UK government is,” Maggie said.

“The Scottish Government has added in extra rules that many bona fide self-catering business will not meet by stipulating it must be our ‘main source of income’.

“Like many small businesses we have a diversified income stream as we couldn’t survive on one alone. The income from tourism helps support our working farm.

“We are the only business with similar financial models that they are applying these restrictions to.

“We are vital to the tourism economy in Fife as our guests go out and visit attractions, eat in restaurants, buy from our supermarkets etc. We must be given the support that other small accommodation providers are being given so that we can survive.”

Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the ASSC, said hundreds, if not thousands, of self-catering businesses in Scotland would not be able to receive grants because of the conditions.

“Many people rely on it as an income stream, but maybe they can’t prove it’s their primary income stream,” she explained.

“We know the Scottish Government is committed to helping us, but they need to understand the business.”

The Scottish Government did not respond to the Herald’s email for comment.