Scottish trade demands recovery plan as restrictions ease

With Covid-19 restrictions lifting across Scotland, trade groups in the country have called on the government to enact a plan for the hospitality sector’s recovery.

Yesterday (3 August), Scottish prime minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that most Covid-19 measures will be removed across the country.

On Monday 9 August, Scotland will drop the level zero restrictions currently in place. While face coverings must still be worn and the country’s Test and Protect tracing system will still be in operation, physical distancing and limits on gatherings will no longer be enforced. All venues will also be allowed to reopen – meaning nightclubs will be permitted to welcome guests for the first time since March 2020.

Sturgeon said: “This change is significant and it is hard-earned. The sacrifices everyone has made over the past year and a half can never be overstated. However, while this move will restore a substantial degree of normality, it is important to be clear that it does not signal the end of the pandemic or a return to life exactly as we knew it before Covid struck.”

Hospitality trade bodies in the country celebrated the lifting of restrictions, with Colin Wilkinson, managing director for the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, calling it “the best news the licensed hospitality industry has had for over a year”.

“We are particularly relieved that physical distancing restrictions can be dropped as the one-metre rule made trading very difficult for some premises, particularly smaller ones – premises can now get back to operating at maximum capacity,” he commented.

However, trade representatives have also highlighted the need for new support measures for the hospitality industry as it begins to claw back the business lost over the past year and a half. Wilkinson called for further financial aid, while Stephen Montgomery, spokesperson for Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG), said: “Scotland is moving in the right direction, and we welcome the easing of restrictions, but it needs to go further.

“We need a recovery plan now that will entice people back into the sector and give them the confidence that they are entering a stable industry again.”

Following the launch of the UK government’s Hospitality Strategy last month, laying out plans to support, train and rebuild the industry, SHG seeks a similar initiative for the Scottish trade.

Montgomery stated: “The lockdown has shown how hospitality can adapt in city centres and we are willing to put our weight behind new ways of operating, but we need support behind us to ensure that there are long-term solutions supported by the country and we are not left on our own again.” 

For further analysis of how the pandemic has affected the hospitality industry, read our investigation of the Covid-19 rent crisis.