Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Drew Hendry calls on UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak to reinvest £215 million in returned furlough support payments and use it to provide extra assistance to small businesses and those people who have 'fallen through the gaps' of the UK' government's Covid-19 coronavirus support

HUNDREDS of millions of pounds of returned furlough support cash must be reinvested in additional support for small businesses and those who have "fallen through the gaps", a local MP has argued.

Drew Hendry, who is also the SNP’s Shadow Business Secretary, has urged UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak to reinvest the £215 million it has received through furlough money repayments.

And he has urged other companies to follow the lead of Wildland Ltd, owned by Danish billionaire Anders Holch Polvsen, who arranged a repayment of £296,000 to the UK public purse after furlough money helped to tide the company over during the coronavirus pandemic.

Praising the actions of the company, which is based in his Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency, Mr Hendry said: “The £215 million the Treasury has received in furlough money repayments must be reinvested into support schemes for those who need it – particularly small businesses and those who are not eligible for available support, such as freelancers.

“It was welcome that Wildland Ltd arranged to pay back the money it borrowed through the Jobs Retention scheme to the UK Treasury. I would urge other large corporations, that find themselves in a similar position, to follow Mr Polvsen's lead.

“My SNP colleagues and I have consistently called for the gaps in available support to be closed, and for the support to be strengthened. I hope the Chancellor will do the right thing and use this money to do just that.”

The £215 million sum came to light in response to a Written Parliamentary Question submitted by Mr Hendry. It emerged that some £215,756,121 in furlough support cash had been returned to HMRC voluntarily by September 15.

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