Money invested in the Rural Entrepreneur Fund: FOI release

Information requested

The amount of money that has been invested in the Rural Entrepreneur Fund in the period 1 September 2021 to the present day.

Response

The 2021 Programme for Government committed to, "Launching a £20m Rural Entrepreneur Fund, providing grants of up to £10,000 to support the creation of new businesses, or the relocation of existing businesses."

In light of the current challenging finacial environment due to recovery from a global health pandemic and subsequently the need to act to address the cost crisis, investment plans are being prioritised to ensure that they are deliverable, impactful and affordable. Consequently, there has been no money invested in the Rural Entrepreneur Fund to date.

The Resource Spending Review sets out the funding available over the coming years. It will support the delivery of the initial phase of the 10 year National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET), in line with our ambition to create a fairer, greener and more prosperous country.

To deliver on our future plans will require action and investment from all parts of government, but government cannot and should not do everything on its own going forward. Active collaboration and partnership with national and regional partners across the private, public and third sectors will be crucial for realising Scotland’s ambitions. NSET sets out how we will transform the way in which Government and business listen to, support and work with each other.

About FOI

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