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Covid in Scotland: Hospitality 'death knell' fears over new rules Covid in Scotland: New alcohol rules 'will cost thousands of jobs'
(about 3 hours later)
New coronavirus restrictions will "sound the death knell" for some of Scotland's hospitality business, industry leaders have warned. The temporary closure of pubs and restaurants across the central belt of Scotland could cost thousands of jobs, industry leaders have warned.
In central Scotland where the infection rate is highest, pubs and restaurants will close for more than two weeks. Licensed premises in five health board areas will close from 18:00 on Friday until 25 October.
Elsewhere, hospitality venues will have reduced opening hours and be barred from selling alcohol inside. Elsewhere, they will have reduced opening hours and be barred from selling alcohol indoors.
The Scottish government said businesses would receive an additional £40m of government support. The Scottish government has said the new rules are needed to bring the virus back under control.
The new temporary measures come into force at 18:00 tomorrow and are expected to last until 25 October. It is making an additional £40m available for affected businesses.
But industry leaders have criticised a lack of information about how the funding will be allocated.
They said they had not been properly consulted ahead of the decision to shut them down - and claimed they were being unfairly singled out.
UK Hospitality's executive director for Scotland, Willie Macleod, said many businesses would not survive the new measures - with a "horrific" impact on jobs.
He told BBC Breakfast: "Closing bars and restaurants is going to have a massive impact on businesses that are really just climbing back from a prolonged period of lockdown.
"They have reopened with reduced capacity to cope with social distancing, they were then hit by the 10pm curfew, and with reduced demand and reduced consumer confidence. Business resilience is as low as it can be.
"Many businesses won't survive and I'm afraid we're going to see tens of thousands of job losses by the time we do the final count on all of this."
Pubs and restaurants will be closed in five health board areas - Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, Lothian and Ayrshire and Arran - where about 3.4 million people live.Pubs and restaurants will be closed in five health board areas - Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, Lothian and Ayrshire and Arran - where about 3.4 million people live.
Elsewhere in Scotland, hospitality venues can open inside from 06:00 until 18:00 to sell soft drinks and food, and customers can be served alcohol in outside areas only until 22:00. Elsewhere in Scotland, hospitality venues can open inside from 06:00 until 18:00 to sell soft drinks and food, while alcohol can be served in outside areas until 22:00.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned that without such measures, by the end of October infections could return to the levels seen early on in the pandemic in March, prompting a more intense lockdown. Stephen Leckie, who runs the Crieff Hydro hotel, said he had 50 cancellations from customers within an hour of the first minister's announcement on Wednesday afternoon.
She accepted the restrictions would be hard on businesses, especially as employers' contributions to the furlough scheme have increased, but said £40m would be made available to support the sector. Mr Leckie, who is also chairman of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said the new measures had caused widespread confusion for business owners and customers.
'Circle of madness' He said: "This industry is in tatters, it's in trouble and now there's turmoil. We have questions to ask, many customers are asking questions and are cancelling in their droves."
Many businesses and industry leaders, however, reacted with dismay, complaining of a lack of consultation and claiming that hospitality was being unfairly singled out. His views were echoed by Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, who said: "These measures will sound the death knell for businesses across the hospitality sector, especially pubs and bars.
Carina Contini, who owns three restaurants in Edinburgh, said the restrictions were a "step too far". "Restaurants and hotels, whilst remaining open, will also be constrained on what they can provide and this will place a large dent in their already reduced income."
She said: "Here we go again. We did it in March when we thought that was a once in a lifetime shock to our business, shock to our communities, and you know, are we in a circle of madness? Having to have a 16-day closure, three weekends, significant cashflow implications, but most importantly our team are in shock, we're in shock." And pub owner Michael McHugh, who owns Alexander's Bar in Clydebank, said he was "at the end of my tether" and finding it increasingly difficult to reassure his staff that their jobs were safe.
Stephen Leckie, who runs the Crieff Hydro hotel, said he had 50 cancellations from customers within an hour following the first minister's announcement. He added: "How can you run a business when every other week you're getting shut down?"
Mr Leckie, who is also chair of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said the measures had caused confusion for business owners and customers. Shops across Scotland will also be asked to return to 2m physical distancing from this weekend, and to reintroduce measures such as one-way systems.
"This industry is in tatters, it's in trouble and now there's turmoil. We have questions to ask, many customers are asking questions and are cancelling in their droves." David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said many shops would be baffled at the request "in the absence of any evidence which shows shops are a source of infection".
Pub owner Michael McHugh said he was struggling to reassure his staff. He added: "These additional restrictions may make it impractical for some to trade at all for this period, and the government must urgently provide details of the proposed support for these viable businesses."
Mr McHugh, who owns Alexander's Bar in Clydebank, told the BBC: "I'm at the end of my tether now. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the new restrictions were needed to prevent the virus spreading to levels similar to the peak of the pandemic by the end of the month.
"I'm finding it harder and harder to continually support my staff and say 'don't worry your jobs are safe'... how can you run a business when every other week you're getting shut down?" She admitted that the restrictions would be hard on businesses, especially as employers' contributions to the furlough scheme have increased.
Her deputy, John Swinney, told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that the Scottish government had had to find the extra £40 to support the sector.
He said: "It is not extra resources we have had from the UK government, we have had to dig deep into our own resources to find the money to support the hospitality sector through what I accept is going to be a difficult period for them.
"But we are doing that because we must take wider action to protect the public interests in these circumstances."
He said the government has to "stop the opportunities for interaction where the virus can spread, that appears to be emerging from some aspects of the hospitality sector".
Rules for the five health boards areasRules for the five health boards areas
There will be no travel ban in any of the areas, but people in the central belt have been urged to avoid public transport unless it is "absolutely necessary".There will be no travel ban in any of the areas, but people in the central belt have been urged to avoid public transport unless it is "absolutely necessary".
And they have also been advised not to travel outside of the health board area they live in if they do not need to.And they have also been advised not to travel outside of the health board area they live in if they do not need to.
Rules for the rest of ScotlandRules for the rest of Scotland
Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: "These measures will sound the death knell for businesses across the hospitality sector, especially pubs and bars.
"Restaurants and hotels, whilst remaining open, will also be constrained on what they can provide and this will place a large dent in their already reduced income."
She said redundancies could rise as a result of the measures.
Stephen Montgomery of the Scottish Hospitality Group, which represents several restaurant and bar groups, said: "The first minister has effectively signed a death sentence for many businesses across the Scottish hospitality industry."
He added there would be a "catastrophic" economic cost.
But Deputy First Minister John Swinney told Good Morning Scotland that an evidence report published on Wednesday had shown the "areas of difficulty" where the virus was spreading.
He said information gathered from contact tracers showed there were "two principle areas of difficulty".
"The first is about household transmission, which is why two weeks ago we put in place the constraints that said people could not visit other households indoors and, secondly, spread within the hospitality sector.
"We regrettably have had to take the decision that we have taken because we have to take action to stop the opportunities for interaction where the virus can spread."
Changes to shops
Shops across Scotland will be asked to return to 2m physical distancing from this weekend, and to reintroduce measures such as one-way systems.
David Lonsdale, Scottish Retail Consortium director, said many businesses would be baffled at the request "in the absence of any evidence which shows shops are a source of infection".
He added: "These additional restrictions may make it impractical for some to trade at all for this period, and the government must urgently provide details of the proposed support for these viable businesses."
'Full support'
Many public health experts, however, backed the changes and said they were a necessary step.
Gabe Docherty, chairman of the Scottish Directors of Public Health, said: "The measures announced by the first minister today focused on those areas which are associated with increased risk of transmission, and have the full support of the Scottish Directors of Public Health.
"The accelerating number of cases in a number of NHS Boards demonstrates the need for immediate action to halt the spread we've seen in these areas over past few weeks, and the potential for further transmission across wider parts of Scotland.
"Taking action now to restrict the spread of Covid in our communities will save lives, help protect our NHS, and - as we begin to see a reduction in transmission - avoid the need for more extensive restrictions."
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