Business chiefs call for guidance

Business leaders in Scotland have called for clear guidance to be published before companies can open up again.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said there is “no time to lose.”

Nicola Sturgeon has indicated that advice for industry will published in the days ahead.

FSB Scotland policy chairman Andrew Mcrae described the route map out of lockdown as the “first step required to getting our economy moving and ensuring as many Scottish businesses as possible make it through this crisis”.

Stressing “many businesses will be required to make adjustments to their workplaces before the shutters can come up”, he said there is “little guidance for firms in Scotland regarding what those alterations might be”.

Mr Mcrae said of the Covid-19 pandemic: “It is a public health crisis, it is also an economic crisis.

“With a third of closed

Scottish businesses unsure if they’ll reopen, local firms need to know that Scottish policymakers want them to succeed.”

CBI Scotland director Tracy Black said the four-phase plan provides a “helpful starting point for firms preparing for the restart”.

“For the Scottish construction industry, which has been hit so hard by the crisis, the resumption of activity in phase one will come as a significant relief,” she said.

Ms Black said while reopening timings “may vary based on scientific evidence”, she stressed the return to work should be “as consistent as possible across the UK”. She added: “Firms will be keen to see an acceleration of specific workplace guidance.”

The first phase of lockdwon exit includes plans for outdoor workplaces to resume with physical distancing measures in place and for the construction sector to implement the first two sections of its restart plan.