Scottish Government Announces £25m COVID-19 Ventilation Fund

Business premises will soon be able to access grants to improve ventilation and reduce the spread of coronavirus.

The Scottish Government’s COVID-19 Ventilation Fund is expected to help small and medium businesses improve ventilation and air quality on their premises to help reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission.

Grants will target a range of high risk settings where people come into close proximity, including restaurants, bars and gyms, with support available to help companies undertake work such as the installation of carbon dioxide monitors and altering windows and vents.

The programme will have a £25 million budget. Levels of support for individual applicants and projects have not been stipulated.

First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said:

‘As we step away from other mitigations, improved ventilation will play a significant role in reducing transmission indoors, support the sustained opening of society and contribute to our wider Covid recovery.

‘Many of the businesses we are targeting have been closed for long periods and it is right that they are helped to undertake this work.’

Further details of the grants, including eligibility and timing, will be published imminently.

The Scottish Government expects to begin making payments in November 2021.

(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)