The government’s Job Retention Scheme – or plan to furlough workers – is very welcome, but the cut-off date risks leaving many seasonal workers, particularly here in rural Scotland, facing extreme hardship.

The cut-off date to be furloughed was the 28th February but many working in our tourism and hospitality sectors were not re-employed until after then.

If the Treasury do not change the criteria, it will have severe short-term consequences for individual workers but could also cause long term damage to our tourism sector once this crisis passes.

Today, I wrote to the Chancellor urging him to change the cut-off to 20th March to save many employees and businesses in Argyll & Bute from hardship.