A second strand of the Scottish Coach Operators – COVID-19 Business Support and Continuity Fund has been established. It will be delivered by Visit Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government and is worth £1.6m.
In a major change to eligibility criteria, the percentage of an operator’s turnover in the 2019/20 tax year that came from coach tourism or private hire must exceed 40% for it to qualify for the second round. In the first strand that figure was 55%. Visit Scotland says that the change has been made “following feedback from [the] industry and recognising a funding gap for operators with a lower percentage of turnover” from those workstreams.
Guidance notes state that operators that were successful in the first round of the fund are not eligible for the second strand. Those that were unsuccessful in the first round because Visit Scotland judged that they did not satisfy the 55% stipulation are eligible, but they will be required to submit a new application.
Submissions for the second round of the scheme must be made via an online form. The process opens at 1200hrs on 23 June and closes at 1700hrs on 30 June. Decisions on awards will be made after all applications are assessed and not on a first come, first served basis.
As before, grants for successful applicants will be paid on a per-vehicle basis. Only those that are category M2 and M3 and which comply with Euro V or Euro VI will be considered. Payments to individual operators are capped at £150,000. Each qualifying coach will receive an award of up to:
- Euro V and up to 24 seats: £2,250
- Euro VI and up to 24 seats: £3,000
- Euro V and more than 24 seats: £4,500
- Euro VI and more than 24 seats: £6,000.
Visit Scotland says that it expects the second round to be over-subscribed. However, it adds that if unallocated monies remain after all applications have been assessed, they will be awarded pro-rata where grants reached the cap, and beyond that, on a pro-rata basis across all successful applicants.
The first round of the Scottish Coach Operators – COVID-19 Business Support and Continuity Fund saw £10m allocated, a doubling of the initial £5m that it received as part of a wider package of support for tourism businesses introduced by the Scottish Government.
