Private sector employment in rural areas is far more likely to be in small businesses and there are issues around the available workforce and connectivity…businesses in the rural areas are more fearful about whether they will reopen than those in urban areas.iiiEEFW Committee meeting, 18 May 2020, col 7
At a Committee meeting in September, HIE said that overall gross domestic product in the region is estimated to have decreased during the year by between £1.5 billion and £2.6 billion, which is severe in a region of just under 500,000 people.ivEEFW Committee meeting, 22 September 2020, col 3
Barry McCulloch of FSB Scotland expressed...