Plea for help amid ‘more heartbreak’ on the high street
SCOTLAND’S latest national lockdown will bring ‘more heartbreak’ to struggling high streets, business leaders have warned.
Ni c o l a Sturgeon yesterday announced Level 4 restrictions will remain in place on mainland Scotland until at least next month.
This means non-essential retailers will have to stay closed for the remainder of the month, along with gyms, hospitality venues and cinemas.
The measures will be tightened with a legally enforceable stay-at-home order that came into effect today.
Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said the First Minister’s announcement was ‘another blow to the private sector’s recovery from this pandemic’.
She said: ‘Whilst we fully appreciate the need for the Scottish Government to act in response to the worrying rise in Covid cases, we cannot ignore the direct impact this will have on business and livelihoods.’
Mrs Cameron said it is ‘vital’ that recovery plans are put in place to help firms when the new restrictions are lifted.
She added: ‘Support for businesses, which have already been through so much and survived 2020, must be expanded and all cash support paid out urgently.’
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has pushed for existing schemes to start paying out and for the Scottish Government to devise more ways to ensure firms are protected during the lockdown.
Andrew McRae, the Scotland policy chairman of the FSB, said: ‘Help for Scottish business can no longer be a dollar short and a day late. For a start, the glut of new support schemes announced at the end of last year need to start delivering cash to firms.
‘So far, few of these initiatives have paid out a penny.’
He added: ‘This hard lockdown will cause more heartbreak for Scotland’s smaller businesses.
‘To stop deep disappointment turning into despondency, mini sters need to mitigate the impact on independent and local businesses with easier-toaccess f i nancial help and crystal-clear advice.’ The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) has also voiced fears over the effects on business, claiming non- f ood r etail has been ‘thwacked hard’ by Covid-19.
SRC director David Lonsdale said work needed to be done to ensure the post- coronavirus recovery helps to keep retail firms in business.
‘Even when stores are eventually permitted to re- emerge from this enforced hibernation, it is likely many will continue to suffer f rom l ower shopper footfall,’ he said. ‘Prior to the current lockdown, footfall was down by a third.
‘Whilst a return to trading is crucial, it will not be a panacea for the industry. That’s why we hope to see a recovery plan from government to get retail moving once again.’
Questioned at Holyrood yesterday about the level of support for business, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘I’m not in any way unsympathetic to the plight of businesses or anybody else.
‘But things would be much worse if we don’t take firm, decisive action now to get this virus under control.’
The Scottish Government has been criticised throughout the pandemic f or the support offered to businesses.
There was particular outrage over the initial bungled management of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s £25,000 support grants for firms.
‘A dollar short and a day late’