The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Disappointment voiced at chancellor’s measures
Hospitality sector and licensed trade say moves do not go far enough
Industry bodies in Scotland say the chancellor’s measures announced yesterday are not enough to protect jobs and businesses.
Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said the new measures fall “way short” of what’s needed to protect hospitality businesses.
“The Jobs Support Scheme will only help businesses which have sufficient demand to pay these minimum hours; the majority of tourism businesses simply will not be able to do so as their businesses are either closed due to legislation or restrictions,” he said.
“The impact of the extension of the current rate of VAT at 5% until March 2021 will have a marginal effect on our industry, given that so many businesses will now be forced to make redundancies and close their doors for good,” he said.
“News of the loan repayment extension, ‘Pay as You Grow’, and the extended opportunity for businesses to continue to apply for loans as a last resort, with the knowledge of there being less pressure on repayment timelines, will be welcomed by many but, sadly, it just won’t go far enough to protect and save our industry from significant decline,” he added.
“Within the coming days and weeks, businesses owners will lose their livelihoods, thousands will lose their income and the effects on the economy and people’s lives will be nothing short of devastating.”
The Scottish Licensed Trade Association warned of business closures and job losses, adding the new measures were “not giving any grounds for optimism”.
Colin Wilkinson, SLTA managing director, said: “Without having full details, our initial view is that the chancellor’s introduction of a Jobs
Support Scheme and the extension of other initiatives to help businesses are not as far-reaching as we needed. “We are very disappointed.
“It must be recognised that the Jobs Support Scheme is significantly less generous then the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
“It is designed to back ‘viable jobs’ – and with the latest restrictions on our pubs and bars, many jobs in our sector will be unviable.”
Mr Wilkinson also said the extension of government-backed loans through the measures announced in the “Pay as You Grow” scheme and the extension of VAT relief would have “minimal effect”.
“These are long-term measures of business support. The industry is struggling to survive now and operators need support today through additional comprehensive sector-specific support for the hospitality sector,” he said.
He said: “A recent survey highlighted that nearly 40% of hospitality businesses were considering closure or business exit while a recent SLTA survey highlighted that, within the pub and bar sector, 12,500 jobs could go.”