KATE Forbes has announced her engagement, moments after support for the wedding industry was announced.
The Scottish Finance Minister said she has not started planning her wedding yet because she has work to do before presenting her second Scottish Budget to Holyrood.
She said: "Having launched the Wedding Fund today, I should declare an interest as a brave man asked me to marry him on a snowy local walk over the last few days and I said yes. No plans yet for a wedding - there’s plenty of Budget work to manage first. Some rare happy news!"
🎉💍Having launched the Wedding Fund today, I should declare an interest as a brave man asked me to marry him on a snowy local walk over the last few days and I said yes. No plans yet for a wedding - there’s plenty of Budget work to manage first. Some rare happy news! pic.twitter.com/kNWDVi00bk
— Kate Forbes MSP (@KateForbesMSP) January 25, 2021
In December, Forbes announced wide-ranging support for business, including £15 million for those depending on weddings.
Nicola Sturgeon told the coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh that funding, which will open for applications on Thursday, will now be worth £25 million in grants of up to £25,000.
READ MORE: Fewer firms go bust in pandemic than in 2019 as Covid funds boost business
“We know that businesses involved in weddings employ thousands of people across the country and of course they play a really big role in making sure that couples enjoy the wedding day of their dreams, so it’s really important that we support the sector now so that it is able to operate again once restrictions start to ease,” the First Minister said.
“So I hope this support will provide some welcome help and reassurance to a sector that has found things particularly tough.”
READ MORE: Kate Forbes pledges that Scottish budget will focus on the recovery from Covid
Forbes said: “This £25m fund will ensure one-off grants of up to £25,000 reach eligible business as quickly as possible and there is no equivalent fund in other parts of the UK.
“The pandemic has had a severe impact on Scotland’s wedding sector, and we know that the current restrictions, while entirely necessary in our fight against Covid-19, continue to take their toll on the sector.
"I’d encourage all those who think they are eligible to find out more about applying – we want to help as many businesses survive this pandemic as we can.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel