The Scottish Government has announced that a resilience fund will be established to support island businesses.
The funding will assist island businesses with the impact of challenges such as travel disruption locally.
The announcement comes on the eve of a ferry crisis summit in South Uist, an island which continues to be badly served by ferry services.
Groups in different island communities in the Hebrides and west coast have called for financial support after a rollercoaster of ferry outages and disruption hit local economies.
Details of the fund’s operation and geographical boundaries will be discussed tomorrow (Tuesday) at a meeting of the South Uist Business Impact Group, which will be attended by the Western Isles’ MSP Alasdair Allan and transport secretary Fiona Hyslop, who is undertaking a range of engagements locally this week.
Alasdair Allan said: “I welcome this announcement from the transport secretary on this additional support for our islands, particularly as local businesses and residents in Uist endure another challenging period where the effects of the wider network resilience are significantly affecting them.
“While I think everyone would agree that a consistent, reliable ferry service from every port is what islanders want and need, the disruption caused in recent weeks and months by a number of major vessels being out of service simultaneously have again highlighted the lack of resilience in the network at present, until the new vessels are in service.
“This initial £4.4 million in funding, being put in place for island businesses in areas and sectors of most acute need, is an important step forward in the Scottish Government’s continued support for our islands’ economy.
“This is in addition to the existing 100% rates relief for island hospitality businesses, which I know has been hugely helpful for many enterprises locally, and also the further financial support included in the Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund since 2022.
“I look forward to tomorrow’s meeting with stakeholders in South Uist where more of the detail of the resilience funding will be discussed.”
£4.4 million resilience fund announced for island businesses
14 April 2025
