October 2020 - Page 6 of 10

Guidance on Guests from Tier 3 areas

Posted on October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 by Fiona Campbell

Questions in Parliament (UK Government) were asked today by Baroness Doocey, who requested guidance on support for tourism businesses in Very High Alert areas and guidance on how businesses should treat bookings from customers who are travelling from Very High Alert areas.

Q1. Many accommodation businesses in Very High Alert areas (England) will effectively be closed as a result of the Guidance that people do not make unnecessary journeys into the area or stay overnight. Please can you clarify if their staff are eligible for the Extended Job Support Scheme?

This Extended Job Support Scheme is only eligible to cover businesses that, as a result of restrictions set by one or more of the four governments in the UK, are legally required to close their premises. This includes premises restricted to delivery or collection only services from their premises.

Q2. In addition, many travel-related businesses will also be effectively closed – local travel agents, tour operators and coach operators who will be unable to take people anywhere – please can you clarify whether or not they are eligible?

We are acutely aware that businesses may suffer over the winter. We want to support those that need it the most: those that are impacted by Covid and who can support their employees doing some work, but that need more time for demand to cover. Businesses that have not been legally required to close can claim support from the Job Support Scheme – designed to protect viable jobs in businesses who are facing lower demand due to Covid. The Government will pay a third of hours not worked, with the employer also contributing a third. The scheme will open on 1 November.

Q3. Please can you clarify the legal situation for accommodation businesses outside Very High Alert areas – are they required to refuse bookings from people coming from inside these areas or, because limiting unnecessary travel outside the area is just guidance, do they have to accept the booking because it is a legal contract?

Accommodation providers may continue to take bookings, and we recognise there are a number of reasons people may need to stay overnight (e.g. for work or for school). However, we are asking all individuals to avoid overnight stays within an Alert Level: Very High area other than for those types of visit.

We encourage all accommodation providers to consider their approach towards guests from inside areas designated Local COVID Alert Level: Very High.

Accommodation providers should communicate to all customers, including those with existing bookings, reminding them not to travel outside the area unless it is essential (such as for essential work purposes or attending a funeral). For existing bookings, accommodation providers should give guests a chance to cancel their bookings if they intend on no longer travelling and staying at the accommodation.

Accommodation providers outside of an area with restrictions may refuse a booking or cancel a booking from guests from inside a ‘Local COVID Alert Level: Very High’ area. The decision to refuse service is at the discretion of the business owner, and the terms of the booking contract may allow for discretionary cancellations. Any decision to refuse service should be done with sufficient notice to the guest, and we would expect any funds already paid by the consumer to be repaid.

Short-Term Letting: Letter from ASSC Member to Scottish Government from the Western Isles

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Fiona Campbell

Dear Mr Allan and Mr Ewing,

I am writing to you both, representing the Western Isles and the tourist industry in Scotland, to express concerns about the proposed licensing and control area proposals for short term lets. I operate a single self-catering unit on the Isle of Lewis to a very high standard and my family is significantly dependent on the income from the business, as are housekeepers we employ on the Island. The property already meets high health and safety standards similar to the proposed licencing rules and this is already a regulatory requirement for such businesses.

It is clear from press coverage and other evidence that this legislation is being pushed through to address specific issues related to Airbnbs in tenement buildings in Edinburgh and a tiny number of rural areas. This view is backed up by the opening statement in the consultation para 1.1 which refers to short term lets having become “the subject of much controversy in some parts of Scotland”. This may be true in a very few locations and some specific sub-sections of the market but responsible self-catering accommodation is an established backbone of the tourist industry across Scotland and is generally well-managed by conscientious owners and operators.

This industry is one that is critical to the Scottish economy and is currently facing significant problems due the covid-19 pandemic. I believe this regulation will have an undesirable, unanticipated and detrimental effect on the sector and that the proposals are neither proportionate nor appropriately well thought through in terms of the likely impact.

I have completed the online consultation but it is limited to technical questions about specific aspects of the proposals. It does not allow for feedback on the proposals as a whole. In fact, the whole consultation process is being abbreviated both in terms of time scale and scope with no robust justification being given.

The additional administrative and financial burdens and the uncertainty of being able to operate will place many operators in a position where they have no option but to give up. This is bad for the economy both in terms of the tourism sector as a whole and the impact on the affected businesses and household incomes. I am sure this is not the intention of the proposed regulation.

The tourism sector is extremely important to the Scottish economy and has been heavily hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now is not the time to embark on an inadequately thought through regime with unknown impact. No explanation has been given why these proposals are being pushed through in the middle of the pandemic when its impact is not yet fully understood and other related legislation, eg the visitor levy, has been put on hold specifically due to the pandemic.

Please can I ask that my specific points below be taken into account and the option to scrap these schemes or consider a more appropriate registration scheme be seriously considered:

The consultation process has been abbreviated allegedly due to Covid-19. In the light of other pieces of legislation being delayed due to Covid-19, eg the visitor levy, this reason does not justify regulation being rushed through and appropriate consultation must be allowed to take place
Because there is no new primary legislation, parliamentary scrutiny of this proposal will not take place. This is entirely is inappropriate for regulation significantly affecting Scotland’s strategic tourist industry, especially when it has been proposed by the housing ministry but it has a significant impact on tourism
Nationwide licencing and control areas are not proportionate to the immediate issue which is recognised to be local. Disproportionate regulation directly contravenes the Scottish Government’s own guidelines which say that regulation should be proportionate, consistent, accountable, transparent and targeted only where needed
The impact on the sector has not been assessed. No BRIA has been carried out. Pricing for the licence is not available
Other, more appropriate mechanisms could be used to ensure health and safety standards are in met in self-catering holiday accommodation. For example, a registration scheme
Other types of solutions could also be applied to the problems encountered in Edinburgh without creating nationwide uncertainly and stress for responsible operators of small self-catering businesses
The limited questions in the consultation process do not allow for full feedback
In no other case is planning permission withdrawn after a specific period. The proposal to require planning permission to be re-applied for after 10 years will create huge uncertainty for operators and it disproportionate to any perceived problem caused by short term lets
My self-catering regularly has bookings 2 years out – more so due to Covid-19 having forced guests to re-book. The proposals do not address the legality of advance bookings given that planning permission and licences may not be granted / renewed for reasons outside the control of the operator.

Law Society of Scotland Response to the STL Consultation

Posted on October 20, 2020October 20, 2020 by Fiona Campbell

The Law Society of Scotland has responded to the Short-Term Let Consultation.

In it, they note the Scottish Government’s Best Practice Guide on Business and Regulatory Impact explains:

“Our Better Regulation agenda aims to reduce unnecessary burdens on business by ensuring all regulation follows the Better Regulation principles of being: proportionate, consistent, accountable, transparent, targeted only where needed….

Better Regulation is supported by a range of measures including: Business and Regulatory Impact Assessments (BRIAs)…

At the outset of any policy development, non-regulatory options such as voluntary regulation should always be considered and a BRIA completed to ensure the costs and benefits of each option are fully considered and compared.

Partial BRIAs should be carried out at consultation stage. The final BRIA builds on the partial BRIA and the consultation analysis. Both of these BRIAs require Ministerial sign-off.”.

We note that no partial Business Regulatory Impact Assessment is available with the consultation. This seems vital and an omission as it is difficult to fully understand the impacts of the proposed regulatory regime (and whether there may be a better alternative) without detail. This makes it challenging for fully informed representations to be made. The proposed regimes could be very costly for operators, particularly for those operating more than one property and those owning properties in different local authority areas with discretion afforded for charges to be vary vastly.

Read their submission.