Scottish Government reaches out to freelancers excluded from existing funding

Creative freelancers in Scotland who have fallen through the net provided by other UK income support schemes may benefit from new Scottish Government initiatives.

The Scottish Government’s economy secretary Fiona Hyslop has now confirmed the breakdown of a £100m fund announced last week to support the newly self-employed and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Newly self-employed

A £34m Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund, managed by local authorities, will provide £2,000 grants for those who do not qualify for other schemes and are suffering hardship.

SME support

A £20m Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund will be managed by the Enterprise Agencies in partnership with Creative Scotland and VisitScotland for relevant companies not receiving business rates relief.

This strand will include rapid access £3,000 hardship grants for companies of fewer than 50 employees, and larger grants of up £25,000 if the need can be demonstrated.

The remaining £45m Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, managed by the Enterprise Agencies, will be allocated to vulnerable SME firms vital to economic foundations of Scotland.

Applications for the funding outlined above will open by the end of April – keep an eye on the Scottish Government and local authority websites for details.

Creative Scotland bridging bursaries

The Scottish Government is also providing £1m to top up Creative Scotland’s Bridging Bursaries in the not for profit sector. Along with £1m from the Freelands Foundation this doubles the original budget for these schemes. More information here.