CATERING companies across Glasgow have issued a fresh plea to the Scottish Government for more funding support to be awarded to businesses affected by coronavirus.

The Scottish Event Hospitality working group is calling on the Holyrood to extend grant support to trades who believe they have missed out from crucial grant funding.

Set up by Lucy Fleming, of Busy Bees Catering and Brine and Dandy, the aim is to make many small firms who have missed out on money from the government viable, eligible and visible.

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Ms Fleming said: “I am setting up a working group with other businesses as it seems that event caterers are not named in the legislation so even though all of our activities are prohibited, we are not named in the strategic framework guidelines.

“That means we can’t actually claim for any of the grants that are available which puts us in an awful situation.

“The idea of the working group is to prove we are eligible for the grants even though we are not named in the legislation.

“There is another fund available for pivotal event grant fund, but that is only available for businesses who have made £500,000 turnover per year, so it excludes small to medium businesses who are contributing to the economy.

“I have been told that grant funding is not available for businesses which have experienced a reduction in demand but that is not the case for me – I physically cannot work without breaking the law and possibly spreading coronavirus.”

Last week, Ms Fleming reached out to other people in the industry who also feel they have been overlooked by the Scottish Government to set up a working group. The aim is to set up a campaign to ensure caterers are part of the administration.

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She added: “I started to email other caterers last week. The people who I have spoken to – their businesses are invisible. It’s not just hospitality it’s tourism as well.

“The really frustrating thing is that restaurants, bars and cafes are the only ones named in the hospitality strategic guidelines which is not an accurate representation.

“There’s no guidelines on how we should operate. It is madness they have completely forgotten about us.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We understand that all businesses face significant difficulties during the pandemic and we are committed to providing continued assistance, within our limited resources.

“The Strategic Framework Business Fund provides monthly grants of up to £3000 for businesses required by law to close and up to £2100 for those that can remain open but are required by law to modify their operations.

“Our £30 million local authority discretionary fund is also empowering local authorities to direct funding to specific groups or sectors within their areas, including supply chain businesses. Employment support to cover staff costs is provided via the UK Government’s furlough scheme.”