Campaign and petition email responses

Please support pubs and help cut beer duty

The SNP have long argued for reform to alcohol duty.

The SNP Scottish Government maintain the UKs most generous Small Business Bonus Scheme which takes over 111,000 properties out of rates altogether.

The Scottish Government’s £1m Scottish Brewers Support Fund lets Brewers apply for one-off grants of up to £29,500, paid via local authorities, if they were impacted by the tightening of coronavirus measures over Christmas.

The SNP has been calling for the UKG to provide support to businesses, particularly energy intensive businesses/SMEs for months. The statistics surrounding expected closures in the hospitality sector are deeply concerning.

It is appalling that, at a time when businesses, households, and the third sector, were facing uncertainty and soaring bills the UKG was missing in action, prioritising weeks of party in-fighting over helping people across the UK who were terrified about the impact of the energy crisis on their bills. · The SNP is calling for immediate clarity on how the UKG’s emergency energy package will help businesses as the mechanism for how support for businesses will be provided remains unclear.

The SNP is also calling for the support for businesses (through the energy package) to last longer than a few months; it is clear that the support for businesses facing soaring energy bills needs to be extended.

Within their limited powers, the Scottish Government is doing everything possible to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis on businesses.