Business network warns of ‘ mental illness, Job losses and poverty’

UNTOLD damage will be caused to the lives of people across Scotland if the level of coronavirus restrictions rise needlessly, according to the country’s leading business network.

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce ( SCC) has issued an urgent appeal to the Scottish Government warning that we must not move into lockdown unless it is “absolutely necessary”.

Tim Allan, president of SCC, said: “Scotland is at breaking point and at risk of being strangled for an overabundance of caution.

“By the criteria set out in the Scottish Government’s own strategic framework, most of Scotland should be having restrictions eased, not locked down further.

“This is not just about the economy – although it is clearly facing perilous decline. It is about not trading harms caused by the virus, for greater harms caused by mental illness, joblessness and poverty, because these can also be

deadly for some. These issues must be equally factored into decision making.

“Although the extension of the furlough scheme announced by the UK Government is welcome, it is not a panacea: it will protect jobs to a certain extent. However, most businesses which are already depleted of cash reserves from the last lockdown, and additional local lockdowns, will still face other costs. Many are at the point where it might just be easier to shut and restart at some point in the future, if at all. That will be a disaster for all of us.

“Allowing businesses to trade as normally as possible must be core to the process of managing the virus.”