THE GREAT SHUTDOWN SHAMBLES
New rules branded ‘clear as mud’ ++ Ministers change confusing guidance ++ Businesses in dark over support plans ++ Warning of legal challenges
NICOLA Sturgeon faced a furious backlash over her confusing lockdown rules last night as hospitality bosses warned of possible legal action.
From 6pm today, pubs and restaurants across the Central Belt will have to shut down for 16 days as part of the latest bid to stop a second wave of coronavirus spiralling out of control.
But ministers yesterday introduced a major change on the eve of the new rules coming into force by announcing that ‘licensed cafés’ would be exempt – providing they do not serve any alcohol.
The rules were branded ‘clear as mud’ amid confusion over what qualifies as a café and why restaurants are not also being allowed to stay open if they stop alcohol sales.
The Scottish Government was criticised for being unable to provide clear evidence that hospitality premises have been hotspots for transmission of the virus.
And business leaders warned the Scottish Government could be open
to a legal challenge as a result. And firms in the sector are still in the dark about whether they will be eligible for financial support, with ministers delaying an announcement on how they will distribute a £40million fund.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Donald Cameron said: ‘The SNP’s guidance has confused university students, mum and baby groups, and now restaurants and cafes. Once again, it’s clear as mud.
‘There is confusion about which cafes and restaurants can remain open.
‘The hospitality industry is already facing the chaos of having to close on a moment’s notice. This confusion must be cleared up now.
‘We also need to see the SNP urgently outline what support is available to keep businesses afloat and save jobs. The SNP never puts businesses first. Once again, they’re shut out in the cold.’
Extra measures come into force from 6pm today in the five health board regions of Ayrshire and Arran, Forth Valley, Greater Glasgow and Clyde,
Lanarkshire and Lothian, an area that includes 3.4million people or almost two-thirds of Scotland’s population.
As well as pubs and restaurants, bingo halls and casinos must close, while nonprofessional contact sport and group exercise classes will be banned.
But a late exemption means licensed cafés will be allowed to open in the five areas between 6am and 6pm providing they do not sell alcohol or allow it to be consumed. Licensing laws, however, do not separately categorise cafés, bars and restaurants.
Willie Macleod, executive director for Scotland at trade association UK Hospitality, said: ‘We have to have absolute clarity because we are talking about people’s livelihoods here and we are also talking about people’s jobs.
‘If these businesses close down for 16 days, there is no money coming in. Where is the equity in a licensed café being able to operate and a licensed restaurant or pub not being allowed to if they dispense with the sale of alcohol temporarily?
‘The Government could be open to a legal challenge on the basis of regulations not being fair, transparent, equitable and proportionate.’
Outside the Central Belt, licensed premises will be allowed to open between 6am and 6pm indoors but will not be allowed to sell alcohol. They can serve alcohol outdoors until 10pm.
Tory peer Lord Forsyth, a former Scottish Secretary, yesterday urged hospitality firms to take the Scottish Government to court. He told ITV Border: ‘The legislation under the Public Health Act was intended to deal with people who were infected, or premises which were contaminated.
‘What is happening here is that businesses are being closed who have spent a lot of money and made great efforts to make their businesses safe in line with the Government’s evidence. And I think it is out of proportion.
‘Now, the only way to test that is in the courts and given the devastating impact... I think the trade associations should test it in the courts.’
LOCKDOWN is now beginning to buckle under the weight of i ts own myriad contradictions.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman yesterday underlined the importance of ‘clarity of communication’. But her government has presided over a set of regulations mired in endless confusion.
Tens of thousands of jobs are on the line as a result of the SNP’s heavy-handed hospitality crackdown. Cafés which sold alcohol were initially forbidden to operate – but can now open if they don’t sell it.
Bizarrely, the question of how to define a ‘café’ is now a matter of debate.
As for pubs, in much of Scotland they are being forced into closure unless they can convert to takeaways.
But why can’t they remain open by serving only food and coffee – which many of them already provide? Where and when businesses might be allowed to open relies on their location. The toughest restrictions are reserved for the Central Belt, affecting more than three million people.
Even National Clinical Director Jason Leitch admitted he ‘can’t keep up with all the regulation and advice’.
These are the strange inconsistencies generated by this ill-conceived clampdown. And they may have to be settled in court cases, as some hospitality businesses consider legal action against government.
It’s not even clear why ministers have targeted pubs and restaurants – there’s scant evidence that they are driving the surge in Covid-19 cases.
Truly, this is chaotic, fag-packet pandemic management by ministers and public health officials devising policy on the hoof.
Is it any wonder that trust in the Scottish Government has fallen under Nicola Sturgeon, according to a new survey?
With so much confusion, public confidence is bound to diminish rapidly in the coming weeks.
Increasingly, it seems the rationale for these sweeping changes to our everyday lives is at the very least dubious.
A major University of Edinburgh study has found strict lockdowns may add to the coronavirus death toll.
While they cut demand on intensive care units, they could prolong the epidemic, resulting in more deaths long-term.
And more than 12,000 scientists and medics have signed a petition lobbying the Government to abandon damaging lockdown restrictions.
The Great Barrington Declaration was published this week, calling for young people to be allowed to return to life as normal, while the elderly and most vulnerable are given ‘focused protection’.
Inflicting crippling bouts of paralysis on an economy that hasn’t had time to recover from the first phase of lockdown imposed in March is hugely counterproductive.
But it also smacks of a strategy that is losing direction, devised by experts who are fast beginning to lose credibility.
Ministers and indeed opposition parties should be questioning the scientific advice that has led to the absurdities now being foisted upon us.
Instead they’ve cravenly submitted to them – guided, no doubt, by the best of intentions. But they are steering us towards even greater disaster.
We know much more about Covid-19 than we did in March, when it was necessary to force the UK into full lockdown.
Since then, showing resilience and determination, we’ve adapted to the altered life we must lead to combat the virus. Now we’re being forced to take a backward step that risks reducing morale – and delivering a massive blow to the economy. The all-consuming battle against Covid means the NHS, in survival mode, is missing other deadly conditions.
Our Government ministers must be persuaded that muddled short-termism is no way to tackle the pandemic.