Coronavirus (COVID-19): Mobile and Home Based Close Contact Services Fund - applications and award by service type

A summary of applications and awards for the Mobile and Home Based Close Contact Service Fund broken down by service type.


Introduction and background

The Mobile and Home Based Close Contact Services Fund was for owners and operators of mobile and home-based close contact service businesses and for registered driving instructors in Scotland. It was aimed at businesses such as beauticians, massage therapists, hairdressers/barbers, tattooists, services or procedures which require physical contact or close physical proximity between a provider and a customer and are not ancillary to medical, health, or social care services as defined in The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020.

The funding was announced in December 2020 as part of a £185 million package of targeted coronavirus (COVID-19) support. The fund opened to applications from 16 February 2021 and closed to new applications on 23 March 2021, with applications being processed up to 16 April 2021. Applicants that provided incorrect information in their initial application were given another chance to provide the correct information- referred to below as a secondary application.

Applicants were eligible to receive a one-off grant of £4000 (£2,000 for the period to end December 2020 and a further £2,000 to cover the period from January 2021 onwards). The majority of payments (99%) were made between 18 February 2021 and 30 April 2021.

More information about the Mobile and Home Based Close Contact Services Scheme is available on the Business Support page.

Number of applications and payments by service type

The table below provides: the number of initial and secondary applications, the number of applications rejected and awarded and the total amount paid broken down by service type:

  • ‘art services’ include portrait painting and indoor photography
  • ‘beauty services’ include make-up, tanning and nail treatments
  • ‘body modification services’ include tattooing, piercing, micropigmentation and Botox
  • ‘complementary and alternative medicine services’ includes only those requiring physical contact or close physical proximity between persons
  • ‘fashion services’ includes dress-fitting and tailoring
  • ‘hairdressing and hair removal services’ includes shaving, waxing, eyebrow threading and laser hair removal
  • ‘massage therapies’ includes Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, Thai massage, scalp massage, and Rolfing
  • ‘spa and wellness services’ includes Reiki, manicure, pedicure, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, exfoliation, dermatology and skincare
  • ‘other services’ included services such as cleaning services, decorators, chauffeurs, music tutors, and health and fitness instructors

Table 1 Applications and payments (£) by service type

Service type

Number of initial  applications

Number of secondary applications

Number rejected

Number of awards

Amount paid (£)

Art services

298

88

114

272

1,088,000

Beauty services

1,767

510

616

1,661

6,644,000

Body modification services

112

24

38

98

392,000

Complementary and alternative medicine services

227

63

67

223

892,000

Driving Instruction

2,078

628

698

2,008

8,032,000

Fashion services

107

32

52

87

348,000

Hairdressing and hair removal services

3,066

982

1,140

2,908

11,632,000

Massage therapies

674

163

203

634

2,536,000

Spa and wellness services

50

17

26

41

164,000

Other services

1,654

570

1,211

1,013

4,052,000

Total

10,033

3,077

4,165

8,945

35,780,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In total, £35.78 million was paid to recipients of the Mobile and Home Based Close Contact Service Fund, with the largest proportion going to hairdressing and hair removal services (£11.6 million, 33%) followed by driving instructors (£8.0 million, 22%) and beauty services (£6.6 million, 19%). The overall acceptance rate was 89%, with 31% of those approved given another chance (secondary application).

An experimental statistics publication for Scotland

Experimental statistics are defined by the Code of Practice for Statistics as 'a subset of newly developed or innovative official statistics undergoing evaluation, that are published in order to involve users and stakeholders in the assessment of their suitability and quality at an early stage'.

More detail on statistical designations is available on the U.K. Statistics Authority website.

Correspondence and enquiries

For enquiries about the publication please contact:

Pippa Stone

COVID-19 Business Support Statistics

Email: Pippa.stone@gov.scot

For general enquiries about Scottish Government statistics, please contact: Office of the Chief Statistician, Telephone: 0131 244 0442, e-mail: statistics.enquiries@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.

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