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ASSC Hustings 2021

Posted on April 7, 2021April 18, 2021 by Fiona Campbell

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) has held its first ever hustings ahead of the 2021 Holyrood elections.

The event follows the publication of the ASSC’s first ever election manifesto, Recovering, Reopening, and Revitalising: Building a Scottish Self-Catering Sector for the Future.

ASSC Chief Executive, Fiona Campbell, chaired the discussion which brought together representatives of all of Scotland’s major political parties to discuss their policies on self-catering and tourism.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, Fergus Ewing, represented the SNP, Jamie Halco Johnston was there for the Scottish Conservatives, Rhoda Grant and Liam McArthur were in attendance on behalf of Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, while Laura Moodie debated for the Scottish Green Party.

The discussion covered a broad range of subjects including short-term let regulation, the prospect of a tourist tax, the re-opening of the Scottish tourism sector in the aftermath of COVID-19, Scottish independence and its possible consequences for the sector, as well as rural broadband and infrastructure.

The well-attended digital event was warmly welcomed by participants, many of whom took the chance to pose their questions and raise their concerns with the politicians present.

Given the success of the event, the ASSC has signalled its intention to hold similar hustings ahead of future elections to continue its work of raising the interests of self-caterers, and the broader tourism sector, with decision-makers and influencers.

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

“I am delighted to say that our first-ever election hustings was a massive success and I would like to extend my personal thanks to all those who participated.

“This election is of vital importance to all of us in Scottish self-catering so helping our members pose their questions directly to those who will be making policy in the future was an important step to take.

“The ASSC looks forward to continuing to engage positively with MSPs from across the next parliament and to encouraging them to take decisions that help self-catering, tourism, and the broader Scottish economy.”

For some context, and to highlight the importance of self-catering to each of the areas the candidates are standing in:

There are 5580 self-catering units on Non-Domestic Rates in the Highlands and Western Isles
1386 in Dumfries and Galloway
672 in Orkney and Shetland

The full video from the hustings is available here.

Read what the panel had to say about Short-Term Let Licensing here: ASSC Hustings – Short-Term Let Position

The ASSC’s first-ever election manifesto, Recovering, Reopening, and Revitalising: Building a Scottish Self-Catering Sector for the Future, is available here.

ASSC Hustings

Posted on March 31, 2021March 31, 2021 by Fiona Campbell

With the election now less than a month away, the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers will hold its first ever virtual election hustings.

We have brought together candidates from Scotland’s five main political parties represented in the Scottish Parliament for you to question on their priorities for tourism in Scotland and how they can best support self-catering.

The past year has been incredibly challenging for all of those working in Scotland’s vital tourism industry, including self-catering. Nonetheless, we should be proud of the manner in which we have conducted ourselves, showing perseverance, tenacity and considerable patience in responding to the significant difficulties faced. The prospect of some self-catering reopening later this month provides some optimism for the future.

Looking ahead, the ASSC has published our first ever election manifesto entitled, Recovering, Reopening, and Revitalising: Building a Scottish Self-Catering Sector for the Future. This sets out our sector’s four main priorities for the next Scottish Government. This includes:

Introducing evidence-based short-term let regulations in partnership with industry that balance the needs of small business and local communities.
Dropping plans for a tourist tax to allow the industry to recover and to support families to have an affordable staycation in Scotland.
Supporting small businesses by enabling easier access to support funding while Covid-19 restrictions are in place.
Championing the benefits of holidaying in Scotland through self-catering and provide financial support to all operators who will continue to be impacted by household meeting restrictions.

The Scottish Parliamentary elections matter immensely to our sector and we will be working closely with many across the next parliament for the good of the self-catering and wider tourism sector. We hope that you use your vote on 6th May and that our hustings session can help you determine your choice.

We have five speakers from each of the main five parties represented in parliament.

Fergus Ewing, Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Tourism and who is the SNP candidate for Inverness and Nairn
Jamie Halcro Johnston, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Tourism and is the Scottish Conservative candidate for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
Rhoda Grant, Scottish Labour and Cooperative candidate for Inverness and Nairn and is Scottish Labour’s tourism spokesperson
Laura Moodie, Scottish Green candidate for South of Scotland
Liam McArthur, Lib Dem candidate for Orkney

We will hear from each speaker on the panel for a maximum of five minutes before taking questions.

You can submit questions in advance: joyce@assc.co.uk.

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Comment: Easing of Lockdown

Posted on March 18, 2021 by Fiona Campbell

The ASSC welcomes the publication of the Scottish Government’s timetable for the further easing of lockdown restrictions which provides a pathway for our industry to work towards reopening and provides a much needed boost for our sector. Following the publication of the strategic framework update last month, we called for more detail and clarity from the Scottish Government and we therefore commend them on the new timetable.
The ASSC looks forward to receiving the further promised details on the funding that will be available to help us restart our businesses and get back to creating memory-making holidays for our customers. We also require further clarity from the Scottish Government on the impact on business of household restrictions, which will continue until we reach Level Zero, rendering businesses unviable, as well the much-needed financial support as a matter of extreme urgency.
With international travel unlikely to be a viable option for the immediate future, we have a real opportunity to revitalise the domestic tourism market in Scotland and self-catering offers a safe and low-risk environment for families to take a well-deserved break after months of lockdown and help them rediscover our country.
Self-catering operators are eager to take bookings and reopen their business after long periods of closure throughout the past year due to local and national lockdowns, as well as the racheting up of household restrictions. The industry recognised its role at helping to suppress the virus, which came at great personal and financial cost, but we are ready to reopen.
We have robust government-backed cleaning protocols in place that underpin our commitment to the safe and responsible reopening. However, we do have some challenges in convincing some local communities who may have concerns. Both industry and the Scottish Government need to work together to communicate clearly to members of the public that this reopening is safe and evidence-led.

Fiona Campbell

Chief Executive, Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers