RISHI Sunak has been accused of leaving "Scottish businesses and workers short-changed" after the Treasury seemingly backtracked on promises of additional money for the devolved administrations.

This morning the Chancellor unveiled a new rescue package for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses forced to close under the new restriction.

Firms forced to close down under the new restrictions will be able to apply for one-off grants of up to £9000. 

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An initial notice from the Treasury said ministers in Edinburgh would also receive an additional £375 million “on top of the increased funding which has already been guaranteed by the UK Government” to help firms not covered by the new package.

However, just minutes later, the announcement changed. Instead the Scottish Government was to receive a £375m contribution as part of the “funding which has already been guaranteed.”

Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said she was both “surprised and disappointed” by the announcement.

She said: “We are both surprised and disappointed that the UK Government’s announcement of additional funding for businesses in England will not – despite the initial indications -  generate further new funding for the Scottish Government or other devolved administrations.

“This is a blow to Scottish businesses, whose expectations had been raised by the announcement, and I will be writing to the Chancellor to raise the issue.

“We fully understand that while the tight new restrictions now in force are necessary to slow spread of the virus, they represent another blow for businesses.

"That is why we have allocated £570m since October to helping businesses, and this sum will rise due to the number of new businesses eligible for support under the latest lockdown restrictions.  

“Our priority is to ensure that assistance reaches those most in need as quickly as possible. In recent weeks we have announced an extra £185m of sectoral support, including one-off grants for hospitality businesses, an additional £41m top-up support for non-essential retail and gyms and a £30m local authority discretionary fund.”

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Scottish Labour finance spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “It only took the Tory Government a matter of minutes to renege on its commitment of additional funding for Scotland on top of the UK-wide support scheme announced today.

“This is an embarrassing U-turn that leaves Scottish businesses and workers short-changed.

“It’s time for the UK Government to honour its original statement and provide the additional funds for devolved nations and regions on top of the UK-wide funding package.”

Under the new package, firms will be able to claim up to £9000 depending on their size. The smallest sites will be able to claim up to £4000 and medium-sized ones £6000. Payments will be tied into the business rates typically paid by each business. 

Sunak said: "The new strain of the virus presents us all with a huge challenge - and whilst the vaccine is being rolled out, we have needed to tighten restrictions further.

"Throughout the pandemic we've taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods, and today we're announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the spring.

"This will help businesses to get through the months ahead - and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen."

Sunak did not rule out further support in future, in particular over business rates relief and sick pay improvements.

He told Sky News: "We'll have a Budget in early March, where we'll take stock of all the various support that we've put in place, including today's announcement of cash grants, and then review and set out the next stage of our economic response to coronavirus at that point."