A senior Scottish Government minister has today assured sporting businesses that Covid-19 financial support will be made available in the near future following a concerted lobbying campaign by fieldsports organisations.

During a teleconference with the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and the Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group (SCSTG), the Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Tourism Fergus Ewing MSP made clear that sporting businesses had been ‘inadvertently excluded’ from much-needed support to contend with the pandemic.

Mr Ewing has assured BASC and SCSTG that details of the appropriate grants will be promulgated to field sports organisations in due course for onward dissemination to sporting businesses in need.

Speaking on completion of the meeting, BASC Scotland’s political and press officer Ross Ewing said: “Today’s reassurance from the Cabinet Secretary is extremely welcome. For weeks sporting businesses have been facing an increasingly uncertain situation following the widespread cancellation of bookings and a lack of support from the Scottish Government.

“We trust that the Cabinet Secretary will provide representative organisations with details of the applicable grants as soon as possible to ensure those in need receive support. BASC and SCSTG will act swiftly to ensure businesses receive this information.

Sarah Troughton, chair of SCSTG, added: “Support for sporting businesses at this difficult time will be crucial if they are to survive. We will continue to work with the Scottish Government to ensure that they deliver on this support.”