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Month: January 2022

Press Release: Self-Caterers Snubbed by Scottish Government Business Support

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

Scotland’s self-catering businesses have slammed the Scottish Government’s decision to exclude them from its latest round of COVID-19 support.

The latest snub from the government comes as some hotels and hostels have become eligible for business support funding, while self-caterers, as well as guest houses and B&Bs, have once again been left adrift.

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers have strongly criticised the decision and have accused Nicola Sturgeon’s government of failing to live up to its claim that it is “supporting the tourism sector.”

Self-caterers have been among the businesses hardest hit by the pandemic and also face the damaging prospect of working under the Scottish Government’s cumbersome licensing scheme, restrictive planning control areas, and the possibility of a tourism levy in the future.

According to an ASSC survey, over 70 percent of self-caterers reported a negative impact on their business caused by Omicron restrictions announced in early December, with more than 65 percent experiencing financial losses as a result. 73 percent of larger self-catering properties have been directly impacted by the advice to limit households to three.

Moreover, many operators are now facing real questions about the viability of their businesses, with 61 percent saying that they are concerned about the future.

The ASSC has reiterated its calls for the Scottish Government to adequately address the concerns of self-caterers, which are shared by many other small businesses in Scottish tourism and others, and to prioritise a sustainable recovery.

Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers Chief Executive, Fiona Campbell, said:

“Excluding self-catering businesses from this latest round of financial support is both deeply hurtful to many small businesses who fear for their future and demonstrates the paucity of the government’s commitment to ‘supporting the tourism sector’ in Scotland.

“Self-caterers have been repeatedly ignored and fobbed off by this government and this latest snub hits all the harder given the other restrictive proposals, like licensing, control areas, and a tourism levy, that are currently in the works.

“The ASSC is once again calling on the Scottish Government to take action, quickly and decisively, or run the risk of thousands of small businesses, vital to the health of Scotland’s tourism industry, vanishing altogether.”

ENDS

First Minister’s Statement 11th January 2022

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

During her COVID-19 update today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon covered the following (11/01/22):

  • The FM confirmed that 10,392 new cases of COVID-19 had been identified in the last 24 hours. She also confirmed that 1,479 people were in hospital. She also noted that there were 65 people in ICUs and that 16 deaths had occurred, bringing the total to 9,950.
  • Prior to the FM getting to her feet, the Presiding Officer commented negatively on the leaking of the statement to the press that had taken place. The FM said that an inquiry would take place.
  • The FM argued that there was grounds for “cautious optimism” but noted that the effectiveness of the measures in place over Christmas allowed for the government to reduce some of them.
  • The FM outlined that hospitality measures would remain in place for another week but that the cabinet was hopeful that they may be lifted after its next meeting.
  • The FM noted that the limit on outdoor venues, including stadiums, would be lifted next week with organisers continuing to check vaccine passports in an extended way and spectators requiring a booster jag to attend.
  • The FM updated MSPs on the in-development strategic framework which would allow the country to “live with” the virus, saying that she intended to publish it in the next few weeks.
  • The FM closed by reiterating the requirements in place and urged Scots to follow them.
  • Scottish Conservative leader criticised the FM for continuing the vaccine passport scheme and asked for the evidence behind the expanded checking of vaccine passports and when indoor sports would see their rules relaxed. The FM accused Mr Ross of picking and choosing which measures he believed worked. Labour leader Anas Sarwar criticised the FM for not releasing data on the Omicron variant and asked her to set out trigger points for restrictions and support in her strategic framework. The FM said that the government was publishing data every day and said she would present her approach to parliament at the time. She also urged against using fixed triggers. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton raised the plight of hospitality venues and sports venues who now have only a few days to sort themselves out for attendance and in terms of vaccine passports; he also urged the FM to put in place more support for long COVID cases. Tory Health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane noted that the National Clinical Director had been reported as saying that measures impacting sports and other venues had had little impact and called for the FM to publish all the data the cabinet uses to make its decisions. The FM reiterated that the data was being published and insinuated that the National Clinical Directors words were being misquoted. SNP MSP Kenny Gibson asked what the Scottish Government could do to help independent travel agents. The FM said that she would continue to do everything she could and acknowledges the difficulties those companies had endured.

Press Release: Self-Caterers Condemn Scottish Government’s Short-Term Let ‘Stealth Tax’

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

Press Release:

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) has slammed the Scottish Government’s controversial short-term let licensing scheme, branding it a “stealth tax”.

The trade body which represents the self-catering sector also pointed out that the new scheme, which is proceeding despite failing to attract the support of industry experts, will have a disproportionate impact on rural communities who rely on tourism at a time in which they need more support than ever.

Scottish Government representatives have previously justified the divisive policy by claiming that it would alleviate the housing crisis faced by many communities in Scotland. There is no evidence whatsoever that it will.

However, according to Scotland’s self-catering sector, licencing will merely result in a surge in second homes and would do nothing to correct the failures in government housing policy. Further, licencing is wildly out of step with the EU principals that the Scottish Government is so keen to abide by.

In what the association has previously described as a “perfect storm”, the multi-million-pound Scottish self-catering sector now faces continued uncertainty caused by COVID-19 exacerbated by damaging proposals like licencing and control zones.

Rather than hobbling the sector, which has behaved in an exemplary way both during and before the pandemic, to a satisfy the demands of a few obsessed partisans, the ASSC continues to call on the Scottish Government to take steps that support small businesses and tourism across Scotland.

Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers Chief Executive, Fiona Campbell, said: 

“While this policy is littered with mistakes – the biggest one is in the name; this isn’t really a licencing scheme, it’s a stealth tax on Scottish businesses, especially those in rural areas.

“Many people running legitimate businesses in Scotland’s countryside feel that this Scottish Government does not consider them to be a priority and this ill-considered and damaging stealth tax will do little to change that view nor will it garner support for any further regulatory burden such as a Transient Visitor Levy.

“Rather than continuing to curate this perfect storm of unfortunate circumstance and wrong-headed regulation, the Scottish Government should drop this scheme and work with the small businesses that will be crucial in our recovery and future prosperity.”

ENDS

Editor’s Notes

  • The Scottish Government have previously claimed their proposals for a fee structure were driven by cost recovery. However, the Scottish Government now appears to encourage local authorities to charge fees according to the turnover of the business, despite these businesses already registered to pay business rates, and complying with pre-existing HMRC Furnished Holiday Let, income tax and corporation tax regulatory regimes.
  • This was illustrated in a letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Housing Shona Robison MSP on 23rdDecember 2021 to an ASSC member: “The average fee could be calculated in some way from the total fee revenue per year in relation to the total guest capacity in licensed accommodation.”

This comes on the back of the former Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Fergus Ewing, branding the Scottish Government’s licensing proposals are “arbitrary, irrational & draconian”.:

Herald, SNP MSP Fergus Ewing labels his own government’s Airbnb crackdown plans ‘draconian’, 21/12/21

Express, Nat MSP breaks ranks to describe his own government’s policy as ‘draconian’, 21/12/21