Category: Grants and Funding
Press Release: Self-Caterers Snubbed by Scottish Government Business Support
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 Update 5th January 2022
In a virtual sitting of the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon provided a Covid-19 update covering the following:
- Setting out the latest statistics, the First Minister stated that 16,103 positive cases were reported yesterday, 1,223 were in hospital with Covid, 42 were in intensive care, and there were a further 5 deaths, taking the total number of deaths under the daily definition to 9,872. The FM added that, due to the omicron variant, tomorrow’s figures would likely show that Scotland would pass 1m reported Covid cases.
- She confirmed that there would be no additional measures introduced by the Scottish Government but that existing measures, such as 1m social distancing in hospitality, limitations on event numbers and closure in nightclubs, would likely remain in place until 17 January. In addition, while this is not legally binding, the Scottish Government would continue to advise the public to limit contact with people in other households as far as possible – and to limit the number of households in any indoor gathering to a maximum of 3.
- She confirmed that the Scottish Government is working on a new strategic framework, expected to be published “within the next few weeks”, on new measures to manage Covid-19 which are “more proportionate and sustainable and less restrictive.”
- The FM unveiled two changes to self-isolation rules, mirroring the approach taken in other parts of the UK, which would come into effect from midnight: (1) the self-isolation period for Covid cases would be cut from 10 days to 7, if people record two negative tests and have no symptoms; and (2) for close contacts of positive cases, the requirement to self-isolate will end and be replaced by a requirement to take a lateral flow test every day for 7 days.
- Following on from her announcement last week on business support, the FM noted an allocation of a further £55m. This would include up to £28m to taxi and private hire drivers and operators, £19m supporting services such as beauticians and hairdressers, £5m for sport, and an additional £3m for tourism.