Additional £58 million to help Scotland tackle coronavirus

The UK Government has today announced an additional £58 million to help the devolved administration in Scotland respond to the challenge of the coronavirus.

This comes on top of the existing £3.5 billion package given to Holyrood to help it tackle the crisis.

This additional funding follows the announcement of a new Infection Control Fund in England to reduce the spread of coronavirus in care homes.

Welcoming the announcement, Scotland Secretary Alister Jack said:

No one part of the UK will face this pandemic alone, and today’s announcement of a further £58 million of UK Government funding for the devolved administration in Scotland demonstrates how we continue to tackle coronavirus together.

While different parts of the UK are beginning to move at slightly different speeds, we remain fully committed to getting through this crisis as one United Kingdom.

This latest cash boost for Scotland is a result of additional funding being announced for the care homes across England. Our frontline carers are heroes in this crisis, going above and beyond and putting their own lives on the line, and it is right we do everything we can to protect them.

This package is the latest in a range of UK-wide support for businesses and individuals in Scotland. This includes a £330 billion of loans and guarantees for businesses, access to the Job Retention Scheme and support for the self-employed. The UK military is providing both the Scottish Government and the NHS with additional specialist skills and expertise and our UK-wide PPE strategy meaning our heroic front-line workers in Scotland have the protection they need to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The UK Government has also expanded testing capacity right across the UK with centres opened recently at Glasgow and Aberdeen airports.