Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Business leader claims coronavirus rates relief still leaving firms to foot ‘impossible’ bills

Alan Massie, director of Carlton Rock
Alan Massie, director of Carlton Rock

A leading entrepreneur has warned that the north-east faces a “tsunami of unemployment” unless business rates are immediately frozen.

Companies have been offered government grants to help cover their running costs and wages while they are shut down during the pandemic.

The Scottish Government has offered non-domestic rates relief of up to 100% for some industrial sites, while other sectors can claim a 50% discount.

But Carlton Rock boss Alan Massie has said the measures do not go far enough, adding that firms which have been instructed to temporarily close will find it “impossible” to balance the books.

He said: “People’s health is paramount, but it’s also important to have an economy with jobs and business as that’s what will pay this all back through taxes.

“It’s so important that people’s wages are secured by the government so we can get through this, but if we don’t do something about business rates then people will not have any jobs to get back to.”

He added: “At the moment it’s impossible for people to pay these rates.

“There is a tsunami of unemployment waiting to happen if something isn’t done.”

Scottish Conservative shadow finance minister and north-east MSP Alexander Burnett said: “The Scottish Government is trying to balance its own books at the expense of hard-working businesses who simply can’t afford the pressures which are being put on them.

“Businesses need more help than ever during this coronavirus outbreak which has left many on the brink of bankruptcy.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We have responded swiftly to the Covid-19 pandemic, delivering a package of measures to support business worth £2.2 billion.

“As part of this we are providing grant support and removing the non-domestic rates liabilities of properties in the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation sectors.

“We have also provided a generous package of non-domestic rates reliefs including empty property relief.

“This provides a 100% rates discount for the first six months for empty industrial properties and 50% discount for all other empty non-domestic properties for the first three months, with both receiving a 10% discount for every month after that.”

Follow below for the key coronavirus updates: