Scotland announces additional £10m for wedding sector

A further £10m has been added to the £15m the Scottish government announced in December to support the wedding sector and its supply chain, with applications opening this week.

Launching on Thursday (28 January) the fund will provide one-off grants of up to £25,000 for eligible businesses in the sector impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, including wedding venues, photographers, caterers and suppliers.

The fund will be managed regionally by Scotland's three enterprise agencies – South of Scotland Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Finance minister Kate Forbes said: "This £25m fund will ensure one-off grants of up to £25,000 reach eligible business as quickly as possible and there is no equivalent fund in other parts of the UK.

"The pandemic has had a severe impact on Scotland's wedding sector, and we know that the current restrictions, while entirely necessary in our fight against Covid-19, continue to take their toll on the sector. I'd encourage all those who think they are eligible to find out more about applying – we want to help as many businesses survive this pandemic as we can.

"We have allocated over £3b to help businesses since the start of this pandemic. However, we know it can never compensate for the unprecedented affect this has had on business. We will continue to work with the resources available to us to protect businesses and build a stronger recovery for Scotland."

The Scottish Wedding Industry Alliance's (SWIA) co-founder Caroline Inchyra said: "On behalf of the Scottish wedding industry, we are delighted that the sector has secured £25m funding from the Scottish government.

"We must thank the Scottish government for recognising the wedding industry as a vital sector in the Scottish economy, and the enterprise agencies for working with us to ensure this fund has as much impact as possible.

"This funding will give renewed hope to the many businesses who have been unable to operate in a viable way for almost a year.

"The SWIA looks forward to a continued positive working relationship with Scottish government as the wedding industry navigates a path through the most difficult trading conditions this highly resilient sector has ever faced."

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