Highlands MP wants furlough refunds to support struggling businesses

A leading Highlands politician is calling on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to reinvest paid back furlough money to assist other more vulnerable ventures at risk of closure because of Covid-19.

Drew Hendry, MP for Inverness Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (SNP) shared "the good news" with Rushi Sunak about Aviemore-based WildLand Ltd repaying nearly £300,000.

The company is owned by Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen and looks after his land interests in the Highlands including Glenfeshie Estate.

WildLand Ltd boss Tim Kirkwood said the funds had been instrumental in supporting the land conservation company and its staff during the lockdown.

As a result there were no lay-offs and staff have since returned to work.

Mr Hendry, SNP Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Spokesperson, urged the Chancellor to divert refunded money to help struggling some businesses, freelancers and others that had fallen through the safety net.

The local MP stated in his correspondence: "I was recently made aware that Wildland Ltd, an employer in my constituency, has arranged to voluntarily repay the £296,000 they received in furlough support back to the Treasury.

"Having relied on this money to see it through the initial difficult period of lockdown, the company has bounced back quicker than expected and as such has opted to put this money back in the public purse.

"I am sure you will agree this is excellent news.

"As you will also know, they are not alone. Several other large corporations and businesses that have done better than expected have now pledged to return the financial support they got through furlough.

"I hope we see even more of this commitment to public-spirited behaviour over the coming months from other corporations in similar positions.

"Regrettably, while some businesses have avoided the worst impacts of Covid, others have not been so lucky, and they still desperately need your help.

"There also continues to be over three million freelancers and newly self-employed excluded from any help and businesses in the hardest-hit sectors like tourism and retail, urgently need financial support to aid their recovery.

"I see no reason why you cannot redistribute these unexpected repayments of furlough money, from corporations large and small, to create new support schemes for those who have fallen through the gaps of available coronavirus support.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and to survive, they need further Government intervention.

"You can choose to strengthen financial measures, fix the gaps in support, and put in place sectoral packages for the hardest-hit sectors such as tourism, hospitality and retail.

"I believe there is an opportunity for these returned funds to be part of this much-needed support package."

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.