Tourism businesses ‘face closure until New Year’
●Industry leaders warn of ‘wave of trauma’ over Five Tier system ● ‘Cafe’ definition dropped to allow more alcohol-free pub opening ●Sturgeon urges Scots to ‘dig in’ now to make life easier at Christmas
Hospitalit y businesses in par ts of Scotland could remain closed until after Christmas, industr y leaders have claimed, as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed plans for a new five-tier system of coronavirus restrictions.
Sp eaking after the S cotti sh Par - liament last night voted through a government motion on the new system, the Scottish Tourism Alliance warned that businesses in areas placed under the toughest restrictions in level three or four could even have to shut permanently.
The warning came despite a wider relaxing of restrictions on pubs and restaurants, with many to be subject to more generous opening hours and the ability to sell alcohol indoors from Monday as part of changes to the levels system for lockdown restrictions. Hospitality businesses in the Central
Belt–the equivalent of level three, according to the First Minister – are currently forced to shut completely if they are considered a pub or a restaurant, while cafes are allowed to operate between 6am and 6 pm with no alcohol sales allowed.
Restrictions are also in place across there st of Scotland– considered mainly level two – where pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes are only allowed to open indoors between 6 am and 6pm without selling alcohol, with outdoor sales of alcohol allowed until 10pm.
These rules will ease from Monday, with Central Belt pub sand restaurants to be allowed to open to serve food at level three.
It means the Scottish government will ditch their controversial definition of‘ cafe ’, which led to confusion and criticism from opposition parties.
The Scottish Government has also pledged to bring in a postcode checker, sopeople can be sure what restrictions are in place in their local authority area.
Much of central Scotland, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as Dundee, is expected to be placed straight into level three when the tiers are introduced. Both North and South Lanarkshire could be in level four, Ms Sturgeon indicated, although she said this would only happen if “absolutely necessary”.
Despite the easing of hospitality restrictions, Marc C roth all, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Al liance, said the system would “without a shadow of a doubt create a wave of trauma and mental anguish across the sector".
He said “many hundreds of businesses who will fall into tier three or four” were now “likely to stay closed beyond Christmas, or indeed permanently” – with this leaving their staff at risk of unemployment.
Calling for more help for the sector, he said: “The gap b et ween the funding that is available and the costs of overheads and maintaining staff levels has become too great, and I would expect imminent announcements of redundancie son a worrying scale, particularly for any businesses placed in tier three or four.
"Without a robust package of support, our hospitality and tourism sectors are facing the bleakest of winters with very little hope of recovery beyond the beginning of 2021.
"The current and predicted impact on the mental health of those within our sector is now becoming one of the biggest issues and challenges we are all facing as we look to the weeks ahead, as is the economic impact on communities.”
From Monday, hosp it ality venues in level two areas – expected to include Fife and the Scottish Borders – will be allowed to serve alcohol with a main meal between 6am and 8pm.
Level three will see all pubs, restaurants, bars and caf es allowed to open between 6am and 6 pm for food sales and non-alcoholic drinks.
Such premises in level four would be closed, along with non- essential stores, visitor attractions, gyms, libraries and hairdressers.
Ms Sturgeon outlined her ambition for all of Scotland to get to level one - and then level zero - "as quickly as it is possible to do".
The First Minister said: "We know it is possible because over the summer we got to the very low levels of transmission that would be needed for that. If we can do that once we can do it again, but it will not be easy."
The Highlands Council area, as well as Orkney, Shetland, the Western Isles and Moray, could all go straight into level one-the second lowest tier - in the new plan, Ms Sturgeon indicated.
And while being in level one could allow people to meet in other's homes again - six people from two households are permitted to meet indoors in such areas - the First Minister said the restriction on indoor gatherings would remain in place "for a period as an extra precaution" as Scotland transitions to the new system.
She urged S cots to "dig in", saying this could allow people to enjoy some more normality over the festive period.
Ms Sturgeon said :" It is difficult andf rust rating, and getting more so by the day, especially as we head towards Christmas. "If we dig in now and get Covid under more control, we perhaps open the door not to 100 per cent normality by Christmas, but hopefully more than we have right now. We all want to see that."
The vote to note the Covid strategic framework, a formality given the Scottish government’s plans to introduce the system from Monday, passed after the government accepted the Scottish Green and Scottish Liberal Democrat amendments calling for more testing and additional data to be published.
Approval from MSPS came as the Scottish Conservatives called for more specific planning to be done for Christmas and for more consultation with businesses affected by the new restrictions.
Conservative Party Holyrood leader Ruth Davidson called on the government to give more detail on arrangements for Christmas and welcomed the plan to work with the other home nations to develop a plan for students to return home for the holiday.
Calling for limited household socialisation across the first four tiers at Christmas, Ms Davidson said such a move would limit loneliness and isolation, and improve compliance to the restrictions.
She said: "It is impossible for ever y seat normally taken at the family table to be filled this Christmas.”