The Scottish Government finally reduced the rules on self-isolation yesterday. The move follows the UK Government’s relaxation of quarantine rules before Christmas and sees the self-isolation period moving from 10 days to 7.
The First Minister also revealed that close and household contacts who have received three vaccine doses will not be required to self-isolate if they test negative using a LFT for seven days after being contacted. While anyone who is symptomatic and has tested positive for COVID using a LFT must book a PCR test. Otherwise, asymptomatic individuals testing positive with an LFT will no longer be required to book a PCR test but must self-isolate and fill out contact tracing forms.
The changes came into force at midnight.
Stephen Montgomery, spokesperson for the Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) commented, “The announcement yesterday from the First Minister to bring Scotland in line with the rest of the UK with regards to self isolation is a positive step for our sector especially after the devastation of the past 4 weeks.
He continued, “After missing out on what should have been a busy December month to see us through the quiet months of January February and March, we would expect that the remaining restrictions placed on us will be lifted by 17th January.
“Hospitality is at a crucial point as we head towards the return of rates, VAT at 20% and utility increases and this has to be acknowledged by the Scottish Government. The requirement for exit strategy from restrictions is now a necessity, not an option.”
UKHospitality Scotland’s Executive Director, Leon Thompson, said, “The reduction from 10 to seven days for self-isolation will be welcomed by the Scottish hospitality businesses that are able to trade at reasonable levels and thus require greater numbers of their team.”
However the First Minister also revealed that the rules around physical distancing and table service for businesses serving alcohol were likely to remain in place until Monday 17 January.
Thompson commented, “The announcement leaves the future of jobs and livelihoods hanging in the balance.
“Christmas and Hogmanay were a write-off for many of our businesses. The ongoing uncertainty on how, or indeed if, sporting and business events can take place over coming weeks and months is now sapping business and consumer confidence further. If the uncertainty around restrictions continues, Easter bookings and trade will suffer, too, as holidaymakers from Scotland and the rest of the UK decide to travel elsewhere.
“Financial support for hospitality is yet to reach struggling businesses – even when it does, it will help with some immediate costs but won’t save the struggling hospitality venues that so desperately need to trade at full capacity. Above all, those businesses need clarity on when restrictions will be lifted and recognition from the Scottish Government that future restrictions on hospitality are not the way out of the current phase of the pandemic.”
The First Minister said during her statement that a revised strategic framework would be published in the coming weeks and revealed that a further £55m had been released for emergency funding – £28m for taxi and private hire providers, £19m for services such as hairdressers and beauticians, £5m for the sports sector and £3m for tourism.
Rugby fans may also get to seen Scotland host England at Murrayfield on 5th February. The current restrictions ban outside events with over 500 people but the First Minister did say she wanted to be cheering them on herself at Murrayfield. She said,, “I certainly do very firmly hope that these matches will go ahead – and will go ahead with crowds of supporters.”
Meanwhile the Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that pre-departure testing will no longer be required from the 7th January for travellers returning to the UK.
The Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) became the newest and loudest voice for Scotland’s hospitality businesses when it was formed in autumn 2020, like campaigning for the removal of the music ban and running a petition that 23,500 people signed in one month. It supported, campaigned and stood shoulder to shoulder with other trade organisations for the continuation of the rates relief for a further year and to keep VAT at 5%. SHG also put together a survey and presented it to government showing the actual cost of opening and closing – and the losses that businesses were making every week, even with the grants.
Here, spokesperson Stephen Montgomery gives his personal take on the last 17 months.
To say that the last 17 months have been a long road, with twists and turns and potholes would be an understatement. Not just for hospitality, but for our supply chain, and our customers too. Who would have thought that when the UK Prime Minister stood before the tv camera on 20th March 2020, we would be dealing with COVID-19 for so long? I know I certainly didn’t. As the days went by and they turned into weeks, then months, we were then confronted with the realisation that this wasn’t a short-term issue. It is hard to put into words the feelings about what has happened to our beloved sector during this time.
The loss of businesses who have permanently closed their doors whether through bankruptcy or through not being able to see any way through this, and the devastation caused to long standing family businesses amongst many, and some that had only literally been open a short time doesn’t bear thinking about. At this point I must pay a heartfelt tribute to all our staff who have stuck by their employers right the way through the pandemic, which saw us open and close so many times, and not knowing when the next curfew, restriction or lockdown would happen.
From the nonsensical music ban, curfews, and other restrictions put upon us, we have turned our entrepreneurial skills into doing other things, like helping our communities, cooking and delivering food, our chefs working in soup kitchens for the homeless, our staff volunteering to help at covid test centres, delivering shopping to the vulnerable, and although we never seek to be praised, we have always shown that without doubt, we are part of the solution, not the problem.
Monday 9th August will be a memorable date for many, as we have left level zero behind, hopefully for good, and entered a new phase, life after zero. With it will come new challenges, and we still see some mandatory things which we still need to deal with, like the wearing of face coverings, and the challenges that brings with it, as England and Wales drop the need for these in a hospitality setting. We hope that Scotland will move to a more personal choice rather than mandatory in the very near future.
As we look to leave one pandemic behind, we enter another. We face a long uphill battle with regards to staff shortage, recruitment, debt, and the ongoing pingdemic. All of which have a catastrophic impact on a sector already on its knees.
So, what can we do about it?
We need to start and rebuild from the bottom. Dissect the issues around recruitment and staff shortage one by one and realise that things cannot be like they used to be. Hospitality is a fantastic career, and one that can take you all over the world. We need to promote it and bury the myths that surround it such as a low wage, long hours career. We need to revisit our employer’s handbook, revisit policies on the wellbeing of staff, their work/life balance, and make them know that they are respected, well thought of, and a stakeholder of the business.
We need to embrace their thoughts. When you see the advert on TV for the army, you don’t hear them saying that when you join the army you will end up in a war or lying in the ditches waiting on the enemy……no, you see them promote a career, a skill, a trade, and this is exactly what we need to do. Investing time in our staff with training must be a good starting point. Getting into schools to speak to children at a younger age is key.
Showing them the vast array of areas within hospitality other than the thought of kitchen, serve drinks or wait on tables. What about HR, accounts, media, the list goes on. Talking to parents, many of which will have done a spell in hospitality in their younger days. Getting our older people back into hospitality and retraining their skills. These are all things which we need to be looking at. Remember, we are the last show in town. We all must realise that yes, there are the scrupulous employers out there, they are in every sector, not just hospitality, and they need to deal with their issues if we are to move forward.
Debt is a major issue for many SMEs now. The average site is in approx £90k of debt made up from BBLs, HMRC deferred payments and creditors. Many will have a lot more with rent arrears. Only this week, SHG had a meeting with Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise to discuss how we look to fund short term debt such as HMRC into long term. This is something which needs addressed urgently before many more well-respected businesses fall off the edge of the cliff forever. Banks are already asking for forecasts to readdress business debt, and how it will be funded. Many will return to the days of the bad bank, and many will call up bank debt with businesses having no way to pay, leaving only one option available, selling the asset to repay the debt, and leaving the owner with nothing.
The issues we are facing now, are just as bad if not worse than the last 17 months. To get us through this, we can only do it with the help of both the Scottish Government and the UK Government. Keeping VAT at 5% permanently would be a welcoming start from Westminster, and doing something beneficial for our wet pubs. Scottish Government need to look now at the rates issue for 2022/23, as these will be set on the 2016 tone date, and nobody can afford that, so the answer must be a further 1 or 2 years rates exemption. We do not need to hear the political jargon of “we gave full rates relief England didn’t”. What we need to hear is “let’s talk and discuss this now” rather than scrambling for the fire extinguisher at the last minute again. We still face a long recovery, and we certainly hope that the issues around the deposit return scheme will be put on hold as we try to work through the recovery period.
Planning, Preparation and Execution are key components to our future. Scottish Government really need to set out a plan now for what happens through the winter months and beyond “if” (and we all hope not) there becomes a need for any form of restrictions to be revisited. We cannot leave this to the last minute. Sector specific support will be needed. How this is funded is down to government, but as always SHG will be willing to help work through this and give ideas to the “think tank” just as we have been right the way through this.
In closing I would like to say a big thank you to the many friends I have made in the last 17 months, my fantastic colleagues within SHG, officials and Ministers across all parties within Scottish and UK Governments, and to colleagues within the other trade bodies. We have worked so hard to get to where we are today, but there is still much to do in the next few years ahead
See you all at the Scottish Bar & Pub Awards on 7th September, the first real chance we have all had to get glammed up and socialise together.
The Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) has slammed the rules on closing times during the Euros as unworkable because forcing pubs to evict football fans mid-game during the Euros will put staff at risk of violence and waste valuable police time.
Most of the central belt remains in level two, and with the risk that other local authorities will be moved up a level at very short notice, SHG is calling on the Scottish Government to introduce flexibility for closing times and allow Local Authorities to decided when last orders will be.
Said Scottish Hospitality Group spokesperson Stephen Montgomery (pictured), “We saw in the Europa League final that the game went on to extra time and then 22 penalties. If the Scottish Government doesn’t give some flexibility to the current rules, we could end up in a situation where people can watch the group stages, but when it comes to the knockout round, hospitality staff are going to be forced to ask fans to leave right in the middle of all that!”
The current restrictions mean that bars and restaurants in level two can stay open and serve alcohol until 22:30 and in level one they can stay open until 23:00.
Stephen added, “I’d like to see the officials and ministers who came up with these rules try to enforce them. Hospitality staff have taken enough punishment over the last year and they should not be forced to then ruin someone’s evening and potentially face a backlash. And you can easily see how trouble could start on the streets, meaning the police get called, which is a complete waste of their time.
“All that needs to happen is to tweak the rules so that people can finish their drink and watch the end of the game. It’s as simple as that – and it should be up to Local Authorities to decide what time pubs and restaurants in their patch close.
“Everyone deserves a bit of fun and relaxation after what we’ve been through, especially since it’s Scotland’s first major tournament in a generation. Much better to do that in a safe well-run pub with lots of public health measures, than have people in uncontrolled gatherings at home or the large, mass gatherings we saw across Glasgow last month.”
It is hardly surprising that research is showing that hospitality had the worst festive period in living memory – in fact, 2020 was the worst year ever. (I’m not sure we need research to work that one out!) But as we take stock on last year’s shutdown and the on going one – what is next?
Firstly, the trade organisations are working tirelessly on behalf of the licensed trade – all of the bodies from the Scottish Beer and Pub Association to the Scottish Hospitality Group, UKHospitality and the Scottish Tourism Alliance and SLTA are putting the case to everyone who will listen.
Rates is probably the biggest worry at the moment because if action is not taken by the Scottish Government to extend the Business Rates Holiday for the hospitality industry for another year, businesses across the country will be faced with paying rates based on 2016 figures. This would be enough to tip even the most successful operators over the edge. This needs to be addressed urgently if businesses and jobs are to be saved.
The other issue that operators are coming up against is Bank Covenants – or the potential breaking of them. Banks are requesting business plans to assess risk – but what operator can at this moment in time predict their level of business over the next 12 – 24 months? There should be moratorium on bank covenants for the next 12 months at the very least.
The continuation of the 5% VAT reduction for hospitality would also help. But the VAT reduction without the issue of rates being addressed is immaterial – because for many, many businesses, if rates are not addressed, they won’t be charging VAT because they won’t be in business.
Funding is still not coming fast enough and there will be a reckoning – I understand there are various Freedom of Information requests in to find out what has been paid out. Our First Minister tells us frequently that it has been allocated – I would prefer the term dispersed.
But some councils are certainly not going as fast as others when it comes to giving out the grants. Here’s hoping the vaccine roll-out is smoother than the Scottish grant roll-out.
What seems certain is that the current restrictions and ongoing restrictions are going to last well into the latter half of the year. Will we come out of the tier system this year? No doubt the organisers of the Climate Summit are hoping we will because if we don’t, it will not be going ahead!
Just to remind you
Tier 0 – Hospitality open and licensing times adhered to. Weddings and funerals limited to 50, eight people from three households can socialise inside and 15 from five households can meet outdoors.
Level 1 – Hospitality – Inside last entry 9.30pm closed 10.30pm. The rule of 6 applies, with weddings and funerals limited to 20. Same times for outside.
Level 2 – households can mix in hospitality but not at home. Inside, alcohol only can be served with a main meal. 7pm last entry. Outside, alcohol allowed – 9.30pm last entry, 10.30pm close.
Level 3 – no alcohol inside, 5pm last entry, 6pm closed. Outside, no alcohol.
Level 4 is the closure of all hospitality venues.
There is not likely to be a quick loosening of the tiers, despite the vaccine roll-out. Most people suggest that we may move out of lockdown mid-February if we are lucky. Then into Tier 4 in March – and perhaps by the end of March we may move into Tier 3… if we get lucky then maybe Tier 2 for Easter. But the jury is out on that. It all depends on the figures.
It has been suggested that the UK Government will move quicker. The Scottish Government is always more cautious.
However, the devil is in the detail. Tier 3 with the restrictions on opening hours makes opening not viable for most businesses in this tier. Some businesses can operate without alcohol but it makes no sense financially if they can’t do evening meals.
There has to be some flexibility from ScotGov to help hospitality get back on its feet. If that is trading hours, then it’s something.
But there are other issues not least for suppliers. The Scottish Government is pushing ahead with the Deposit Return Scheme – and wholesalers are having to bear the set-up costs of this scheme which is being imposed on them. We all know that wholesalers are not working on the biggest margins – and every trade business needs wholesalers to keep operating in order to have the supply there when it is needed. So right now, despite its green credentials, it really is not good news. It is due to come into play on 1st of July this year. Perhaps it is time that DRS was put back 12 months.
Remember, licensees will seen an impact cashflow too, with a deposit on all cans and bottles (single use drinks containers) of 20p required before you sell them – yes, you get the cash back, but when?
The only help suppliers have had is a £5m fund launched in December – which was open for only a week. It was targeted a food and drink wholesalers who had seen sales fall by 20% or more since March – most of the hospitality suppliers I know lost upwards of 90%… despite pivoting to sell to consumers.
The Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) is still waiting for a response to its Scottish Government freedom of information request sent on 4 November asking for the evidence justifying the restrictions on hospitality during Covid-19.
SHG wants ‘records relating to the scientific, statistical, or medical evidence for restrictions that have been put in place on the Scottish hospitality sector, such as pubs and restaurants, at any point between the date of this request and 1 March 2020’ for the purposes of establishing ‘exactly what information is held by the Scottish Government that has been used in making policy decisions about restrictions on normal trading practice.’
Stephen Montgomery (pictured), spokesperson for the Scottish Hospitality Group, has said all along that the Scottish Government should be working together with the hospitality sector and continues to have “huge concerns” no only about the advice underpinning these decisions but also Edinburgh staying in tier 3 and the time it’s taking for financial support to reach operators.
He said, “The First Minister increasingly defends her cabinet’s decisions by saying no politician wants to take unpopular decisions. Motives are not the point here. We are allowed to question and criticise government policy without that being deflected as somehow doubting her intentions.
“We have huge concerns over the advice that the government is acting on and the judgements it is making. Far from being part of the problem, responsible hospitality businesses are part of the solution to Covid-19.
“Rather than engage meaningfully with the sector and discuss how we can work together to protect public health, the government continues to take decisions such as moving the goalposts on Edinburgh’s move into level 2.
“Meanwhile, hundreds of operators in the central belt, forced to close for the 3 week ‘short sharp shock’ in October, still await the First Minister’s promised £1650.
“It remains our hope that if the government will listen to the sector and understand our position, we can still move forward positively together.”
Negative or slow trends in the battle against coronavirus are proving that Scotland’s pubs, restaurants and hotels are not the cause of the problem, according to the Scottish Hospitality Group.
For more than a month the majority of premises across the country have been forced to shut or are doing minimal trade, especially across the central belt where there are both the toughest restrictions and the highest levels of the virus.
Group spokesperson Stephen Montgomery said, “Since most hospitality businesses are either shut or virtually empty, how can they possibly be responsible for the spread of the virus. Some parts of the country are even seeing increases and it’s certainly not because people are out drinking or socialising in our premises. We agree with Professor Leitch’s previous comments that household transmission is the biggest issue.”
The group is calling for licensing hours for off-sales and hospitality to be aligned from 10am – 10pm in tier 2. It also says that businesses in tier 4 must have certainty as soon as possible before 11 December so they can prepare to salvage Christmas and Hogmanay as much as they can.
Stephen Montgomery added, “If alcohol was really that much of an issue then off-sales would have been restricted, but instead people are allowed to make spur-of-the-moment purchases to socialise with friends or family at home. Not only do homes lack the safety measures that we have in our businesses, for example the legal trace and protect system, but there’s no visibility of the problem for the government and people are never going to self-report that they’ve been breaking the rules.”
“There’s no evidence-based argument for allowing off-sales until 10pm while we are prevented from serving a glass of wine with food up until 10pm in tier 2. And since the argument seems to be that alcohol isn’t that much of a factor, we should be able to serve food and soft drinks until 10pm without alcohol in tier 3.”
Licensed Trade Hero 2020 is a brand new category at this year’s Scottish Bar & Pub awards reflecting the times we’re living through and this got us thinking about Hospitality Heroes that have gone above and beyond during the Covid crisis. Today we honour Stephen Montgomery of The Townhead Hotel, Lockerbie, and Scottish Hospitality Group spokesperson.
Everybody knows the name Stephen Montgomery. This hotelier and spokesperson for the Scottish Hospitality Group has been nothing short of inspirational during the Covid crisis and there’s hardly day that goes by when his name isn’t mentioned in trade and mainstream press fighting the hospitality industry’s corner.
Stephen is always on hand with tough, thought- provoking responses to the latest government legislation has repeatedly called for our industry to be more involved in the decision-making process and has given freely of his time to keep the concerns of operators in the media mainframe and on everybody’s lips.
He was instrumental in setting up the Scottish Hospitality Group in September with operators like The DRG Group, Buzzwork Holdings, Signature Pubs, Montpeliers, Manorview Group, Lisini Pub Co, Caledonia Inns, G1 Group, Siberia Bar & Hotel, and Mor-Rioghain Group.
The Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) has demanded that the Scottish Government ‘tweak the tiers’ or publish the scientific evidence behind the restrictions on trading hours after Nicola Sturgeon moved Fife, Perth and Kinross and Angus up to Level 3 yesterday meaning that operators must once again revise their plans for staffing and stock.
Among them is five-star Gleneagles Hotel which is set to close on Friday until February.
In response to a direct Scottish Government request for industry feedback, SHG suggested an extension in trading hours in tiers 2 and 3 to 10pm as there is no scientific evidence to support forcing premises to close their doors at 6pm or 8pm. By extending opening times by just a few hours, it means businesses can operate a full dinner service and bring in enough money to cover fixed costs such as rent, furlough contributions, and staff pension payments.
Stephen Montgomery, spokesperson for the Scottish Hospitality Group, said, “Remaining in the current tiers, or even worse moving up a tier, is a sucker punch for hard-working hospitality staff who face losing their jobs. The government asked us for refinements to the current restrictions that would protect the public and allow us to trade viably. We provided those recommendations, but they were completely ignored.”
Conor O’Leary, Gleneagles’ Managing Director, said,“Having worked so hard to provide a safe environment across our estate, we are saddened by this development, especially in the lead-up to Christmas – the highlight of our calendar for both team and guests. However, we’re committed to taking the additional measures necessary to protect the health and wellbeing of everyone at Gleneagles, and to play our part in minimising COVID-19 cases in the region.”
Marc Crothall, CEO Scottish Tourism Alliance said of the Gleneagles closure, “I have been having conversations with hoteliers the length and breadth of the country and many are doing similar. The costs of remaining open and providing a total experience which the customer expects, with limitations and uncertainty are too high.”
SHG has also warned that time is running out to save Christmas for families and businesses across Scotland, with continued deep uncertainty about what this year’s festive season could look like.
Businesses are calling for more help in the short- to medium-term to prevent closures and redundancies.
Nic Wood, Director of the Signature Pub Group, said, “The more viable we can be then the less of a burden we will be on the country and we will still provide safe places for people to socialise. Were it not for furlough, 75,000 people in the central belt would have lost their jobs this week. But the businesses that employ these people still need support to cover the furlough contribution and fixed costs.
“The Scottish Government must sit up and listen to what industry is saying to them or the majority of hospitality businesses, particularly the small, independent operators without deep pockets, will not be here past Christmas. Just tweaking the guidance slightly will save thousands of jobs and save the taxpayer millions while still giving the public a safe place to meet friends and family.”
On average for SHG members, the government grant aid is £5100 less A WEEK than it costs to run each venue (average costs are £5800 per week and the average grant is £700 per week). That means the group as a whole is losing £1m every week of being obliged to shut or unable to trade viably.
The figures are even worse when including the costs of shutdown, e.g. wasted stock. These are an average of £2400 per venue. Adding the shutdown costs means weekly losses rise to £1.5m across the group.
Stephen Montgomery added, “We have also repeatedly raised the staggering shortfall in financial support for a vital Scottish industry. Once again, businesses are having to plan how they and their staff can survive. If the government won’t let us trade viably, then it must honour its promises to provide sufficient grant support for viable operations.”
The Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) has demanded that the Scottish government admit that its new five-tier system will send hospitality businesses to the wall with incalculable job losses.
With not ‘one single recommendation’ taken on board from trade bodies the Scottish government consulted with, Scotland’s five-tier Covid alert system announced yesterday by Nicola Sturgeon that puts most of the country in tier 3 has been called neither ‘proportionate’ nor ‘sustainable’ and ‘too much’ by both SHG and UKHospitality.
SHG spokesman Stephen Montgomery said, “The Scottish government’s tiered covid-19 alert system will only lead to chaos and failure. This approach is neither ‘proportionate’ or ‘sustainable’. We put together a detailed, workable plan for how hospitality could operate safely and viably in each tier. The Scottish government did not take on board one single recommendation that we put forward to save jobs.
“This is yet another example of government talking to industry but not listening. Saving jobs is key to protecting people’s livelihoods and the economy. It’s not rocket science – too few hours and too many staff exclude many businesses from claiming the Job Retention Scheme.
“The government must acknowledge that the new restrictions will end in hundreds, if not thousands of job losses. From Monday (2 November), more than 70% of the country’s population will be living indefinitely under tier three restrictions. Allowing restaurants to open for two more hours in this tier would enable them to serve another course and would result in saving 100 jobs for one of our members alone.”
UKHospitality executive director for Scotland Willie Macleod says that this will be the final nail in the coffin for some businesses unless the Scottish government steps up its financial support and that once again these restrictions have all come at the eleventh hour leaving operators no time to prepare.
He said, “The majority of hospitality businesses are going to find themselves in level three and will be badly affected by the restrictions.
“Businesses in level two areas will also feel the hit due to the restrictions to all but essential travel. It will also be a blow to accommodation businesses in level two as they might have expected some business from level three areas and will now not get it. The reality is that, for some businesses, these restrictions will be too much. Businesses will be closing their doors and, for some, they will remain closed permanently with the associated job losses.
“It is imperative that the Scottish Government provides details of easily accessible financial support available for the duration of the restriction and, in all likelihood, beyond that. We need confirmation of the level of support that will be offered to businesses in each level and details of how the Job Support Scheme, both Open and Closed, will apply across the levels.
“Once again, it is disappointing that businesses have only 3 days’ notice to prepare for the changes. As we have said repeatedly, it is vital that businesses have as much time as possible to prepare for measures that will have a huge impact. We need to give venues the best possible chance of staying open. Each closure has a real risk of being a permanent one, with the job losses that this will inevitably bring.”
The Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) has slammed the Scottish government’s new financial support package for business that was announced on Friday as being woefully inadequate because it won’t see the trade through if further restrictions are imposed, while labelling the new five-tier system ‘unnecessarily complex.’
SHG spokesman Stephen Montgomery said, “The new financial support package, while welcome, is the equivalent of being abandoned at sea with only a lifejacket. We cannot survive if the intention is to impose these restrictions indefinitely. More levels are just another example of an unnecessarily complex system that leaves both businesses and the public confused.”
Coming into force on Monday 2nd November, under the five tiers hospitality venues would be forced to close at level three while they would be banned from serving customers indoors or have severely restricted opening hours at level two.
Stephen has also repeatedly called for the government to work together with trade to find a solution based on ‘tangible evidence’ rather than ‘absurd guesswork.’
He said, “The hospitality industry is still left bearing the brunt with no scientific, statistical, or medical evidence for these restrictions. We are tired of hearing the numbers ‘may’ or ‘might’ or ‘could’ be impacted by our ongoing economic ‘sacrifices’. It seems ludicrous it is too early to see the effect on case numbers for hospitality yet current measures on household gatherings are determined as having an impact.
“Between July and September our members have served more than 1.8 million customers with only 17 confirmed cases, demonstrating Scotland’s bars and restaurants offer a far safer environment where people can be sure all possible precautions have been taken to look after them properly. We have repeatedly called on the government to work with us on a solution – we now need confidence that ministers are making decisions and putting measures in place based on tangible evidence rather than absurd guesswork.”
On the day when the Scottish government’s new restrictions come into force where pubs and restaurants in the central belt are to close at 6pm and will not reopen until at least 25 October, with no alcohol to be served indoors and bar opening hours limited in the rest of Scotland, Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) spokesperson and licensee Stephen Montgomery reflects on how he’s feeling…
Shocked, Stunned and Depressed. I really don’t know how I feel right now, so I can only imagine that everyone reading this is feeling somewhat the same.
We as a trade have done everything we have been asked to, and more, with regard to keeping our staff and customers safe, and now we have been hit with that final blow. It will see many of our trade shut their doors tonight for the very last time. It’s all too much to take in.
On Tuesday the First Minister took to the floor during her briefing to fire a warning shot out to us. She gave us the big speech about where the virus was more progressive, gave it the full story, and at that vital moment we were all at the edge of our seats and shouting at the TV ‘just do it, just tell us, come on’… it was just like watching an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire when the contestant is about to hit the £1m and they say… “come back after the break”!! So…as always she left us hanging on yet again for another 24 hours.
To be fair, on Wednesday the Scottish Government didn’t let us down, they effectively signed the death warrant on us, the return of the death penalty. The pitiful amount released of £40m to assist those locked down in the 5 areas isn’t even going to touch the sides. Modelled on the Aberdeen lockdown it will be distributed on rateable values, below £51k and over £51k by the sound of it. It beggars belief that a city of the size of Liverpool comes up with £40m to help its hospitality, however Scotland as a country can’t dig deeper to support those they have put on the naughty step for doing everything right, and who contribute to the £10.6 billion annually to Scotland’s GDP.
For those who are not fully locked down, it will be a scramble for a token payment, but given the fact that the maximum anyone will get who is in a full lockdown will be between £1500 and £2000, the £40m pot will be about empty before anyone else gets a slice.
In my view the planning preparation and execution of this latest restriction has been terrible. It is the equivalent of going into a battle without a map. The shot was fired on Wednesday to shut us down in whatever way, but then the First Minister said they would now take a day or two to talk to trade to decide the best way to distribute the pocket money. This should have already been planned and prepared prior to the announcement and ready for the execution. Again, as I have always said, engage more with us and we can help. Today as we go to print, we still don’t even have the definition of what is or is not a cafe.
So let’s look at where we’ve got to so far.
Pubs, Hotels and restaurants have repeatedly implemented the safety measures required by the Government and more, to protect our customers and staff. A recent survey of our Scottish Hospitality Group members showed that we had registered only 17 confirmed COVID cases among more than 1.8m customers and 6000 staff. We are trusted by our customers, and we as a sector are a vital part in the cog of helping the Scottish Government pave a path through this. We are the safest social space available anywhere, and play a vital part in our towns and communities for many many people. We are the solution to their problem, not the problem to their solution.
We have repeatedly asked the Government for scientific evidence that would prove the restrictions they impose, like the music ban and the 10pm curfew actually work, and yet they have singled us out, charged us and found us guilty without any supporting evidence.
I feel so sorry for every one of us caught up in this terrible situation, the nightmare that we can’t wake up from, but I also feel sorry for our young employees between 16 and 24 years old, who will be hardest hit by these restrictions. More than 25% of our members’ 6,000 staff are under 25 and it is that generation that is likely to pay the price for this latest lockdown.
Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop said in her message to Scotland’s young people, that the government would do everything it could to give them the opportunities they
need for skills, training and employment; give them the chance to succeed despite the economic impacts of coronavirus by ensuring everyone aged between 16 and 24 had the opportunity of work, education or training. How can she say this, when her Government’s ill-thought decisions are putting employers out of business?
What are our asks from Scottish Government? They are simple. Sector specific support with a tailored hospitality furlough scheme to enable us to retain our fantastic staff, financial support to help keep our businesses afloat, look at giving us a further rates exemption, and push the UK Government in extending the 5% VAT scheme.
Where do we go now? Who knows? One thing is for sure, the Scottish Hospitality Group will continue to be a voice, we will continue daily to put the concerns of grass route operators to the fore of every argument and obstacle that is put in our way in our endeavour to make sure that we get through this together. We will continue to ask the Government to speak to us, work with us, engage with us, and allow us to help them in keeping us all safe, because that’s what we do as hospitality leaders. I totally understand that Scottish Government have a hard job to do, it really cannot be easy, but speak to us more, involve us more and share the burden.
Need to go now…..Leigh, get the phone……probably just another cancelation!
The new restrictions broken down
All pubs and restaurants in the central belt – Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Arran, Lothian and Forth Valley health board areas – will have to close, both indoors and outdoors, from 18:00 today until 25 October, although takeaways can still be served.
Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes in the rest of Scotland will not be allowed to serve alcohol indoors. They can only open between 06:00 and 18:00 for food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Licensed premises away from the central belt can continue to serve alcohol outdoors until the 22:00 curfew.
All cafes can stay open until 18:00.
Hotels can serve evening meals to residents but without alcohol.
Alcohol can still be served at weddings and funerals, which are limited to a maximum of 20 people and can only take place in regulated premises.
The existing rules state that a maximum of six people from two households can meet together in hospitality venues, either indoors or outdoors.
Customers have to provide their contact details, and must wear face coverings while moving around and when not eating or drinking.
It is mandatory for staff to wear face coverings, and there can only be table service.
Trade bodies have slammed the 10pm curfew that licensees and restaurant owners in Scotland must comply with as of Friday 25th September branding it the “last straw” for many business that have now become “scapegoats” and that are just managing to break even – despite evidence showing hospitality businesses account for only a very small percentage of overall COVID-19 cases.
Responding to Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement yesterday on further restrictions to control the spread of coronavirus, Scottish Tourism Alliance Chief Executive Marc Crothall, (pictured) said, “The First Minister’s announcement that bars, pubs and restaurants will close at 10pm from Friday will serve as a significant blow to many hundreds of businesses across Scotland who have worked hard to ensure compliance with government guidance to protect their staff, customers and to offer confidence that all possible measures have been taken to protect these groups.
“The impact that this new rule will have on restaurants in particular in terms of restricting a second seating in the evening will result in a substantial loss of revenue, as indeed it will in other areas of hospitality.
“The evidence we have seen to date shows that incidences of the virus in hospitality businesses account for only a very small percentage of overall cases and I would therefore be hopeful that the further evidence we will gather in the coming days and weeks will feed into the review of this particular measure.”
Said Stuart McPhee of the newly-formed Aberdeen Hospitality Together (AHT), “With only 5% of transmissions being related to hospitality, it really feels that our sector is becoming the scapegoats of this situation. It is our feeling that the curfew will simply move the problem and fuel house parties with no measures to manage the spread of the virus.
“This is something our sector can provide with robust guidance and test and protect procedures in place along with the approach that if any venues do not follow the guidance, they should be closed down and not the industry at large.”
Stephen Montgomery, spokesperson for the Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG), added, “We are now staring into an abyss. A national curfew on Scotland’s bars, restaurants and late night venues will have a critical impact on those crucial later trading hours. Many of us are already trading at a loss and some members estimate that they will see their turnover plummet by more than 25% with the new measures.
“There is a real concern that the hospitality industry is being singled out for restrictions with very little evidence to support a link to coronavirus transmission. Across the SHG alone (which employs 6,000 staff) we have seen only a handful of positive cases since July.”
Marc Crothall also repeated calls for a tailored furlough package from the UK government to protect Scotland’s tourism industry, a permanent reduction in VAT to 5% beyond 2021, a business rates holiday until the end of March 2022 for all tourism businesses and a recapitalisation of borrowing – a mechanism for creating business liquidity for businesses which are quite simply running out of cash.
He did, however, welcome the announcement of additional inspection measures and enforcement to identify non-compliance.
“I have said throughout this crisis that our industry must continue to do the right thing and comply with every measure imposed on us for the good of all and to bring the virus under control. ”