COVID-19 Information Hub

Welcome to the Scottish Rural Network COVID-19 Information Hub. This hub has been set up in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and will be updated regularly with the latest official guidance, helpful resources, funding support and news relevant to Scotland's rural communities.

If you are looking for more advice relating to agriculture and farming then please visit the COVID-19 page on ruralpayments.org

If you cannot find the answer you are looking for in the information below, then please get in touch with us via our online contact form.

Download the Protect Scotland app from NHS Scotland.

Click on the links below to jump to a section

Coronavirus guidance from Scottish Government
Rural Sector Guidance
Other Sector Guidance
Community Support and Funding
Business Support and Funding
Food & Drink Support
Support for Young People
Volunteering & Employment Opportunities
Learning Opportunities
Third Sector Funding
Wellbeing & Mental Health Support
Other Useful Links

Coronavirus guidance from Scottish Government

From Tuesday 5 January, mainland Scotland moved from Level 4 to a temporary Lockdown, with new guidance to stay at home except for essential purposes. Some islands will remain at Level 3. View the main Coronavirus page for all updates.

The same social distancing and health & safety guidelines apply to rural Scotland as they do in more built-up areas. To protect yourself and others, you must:

wear a face covering
avoid crowded places
clean hands and surfaces regularly
stay 2m away from other people
self-isolate and book a test if you have COVID-19 symptoms (new continuous cough, fever or loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste)

Rural Sector Guidance

Other Sector Guidance

Community Support & Funding

Community Response, Recovery & Resilience Fund - paused for applications until 11th January 2021
Community and Third Sector Recovery Programme
Scottish Government Supporting Communities Fund - this fund is issued through anchor organisations and is not available for applications. You can see a list of the organisations supported so far here.
Connecting Scotland
Resilience planning information from Ready Scotland
ScotPHO COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Map

Business Support & Funding

For information on business support funding available through the Scottish Government, you can visit the FindBusinessSupport.gov.scot website. The main funding streams available include the below;

Funding and support available through the UK Government;

Other funding and support available;

Growbiz is an independent, community-based organisation with charitable status, providing support to anyone starting, running or growing a rural business. They are increasing their support during the COVID-19 crisis and are open to any small or micro-business in Perthshire or other parts of rural Scotland.
Crowdfunder UK 'Pay it Forward' Scheme
COVID-19 Self-Isolation Support Grant