Covid in Scotland: Tighter restrictions on Scottish pubs expected

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Pubs, restaurants and visitor attractions are concerned about the possible impact of new restrictions on their businesses

The Scottish government is expected to announce stricter restrictions on licensed premises as part of efforts to slow a surge in coronavirus cases.

It is thought that the new rules may be focused on pubs and restaurants in areas with higher levels of the virus.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has already said the new measures will not be a return to full lockdown.

The virus has been spreading particularly quickly in the central belt of Scotland.

It is expected that the new rules will be primarily focused on "hotspot" areas, such as the Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Lothian, Forth Valley and Ayrshire and Arran health board areas.

The Scottish Sun newspaper has said that a series of documents apparently giving details of the new rules for the hospitality sector have been leaked to its journalists.

Ms Sturgeon will confirm the new measures in a speech to the Scottish Parliament at about 14:50 BST.

The licensed trade has called on the Scottish government to provide financial support for any businesses that are affected.

The first minister said in June that she believed Scotland was "not far away" from eliminating the virus.

But the number of people testing positive has increased sharply in recent weeks - in keeping with some other parts of the UK and Europe - despite Scotland generally taking a more cautious approach to the virus than England.

Figures released on Wednesday showed that Scotland recorded more than 1,000 new confirmed cases of the virus in a single day for the first time - although the country is doing far more testing now than at the height of the pandemic earlier in the year.

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About 730 new cases are being recorded every day in Scotland on average - compared with 285 a fortnight ago - with the number of people dying or being admitted to hospital also increasing.

Across the UK, a further 14,542 cases were confirmed on Tuesday - a figure that has trebled in a fortnight.

Last month, people in Scotland were banned from visiting other homes, with strict limits also in force for outdoor meetings and a 22:00 curfew imposed for pubs and restaurants.

Ms Sturgeon said on Tuesday that the rising number of cases meant "additional targeted steps" were now needed if the country was to attempt to bring the virus back under control before winter.

When the 10pm pub curfew was announced a fortnight ago, Nicola Sturgeon made clear she would like to go further in restricting hospitality.

The reason she gave for not doing so was the limited capacity of the Scottish government to financially support affected businesses.

Talks with the UK government have not resolved that issue yet, but the Scottish government is sufficiently alarmed by rising case numbers that it has decided to act anyway.

The trading hours and licensing conditions for pubs and restaurants are likely to be restricted further and these restrictions may be heaviest in the central belt of Scotland, where the prevalence of the virus is strongest.

The details were being debated and decided at a special meeting of the Scottish cabinet this morning.

Affected businesses are likely to be offered some additional financial help from the Scottish government, while it continues to press for further Treasury support.

Today's Scotland-only measures may not amount to the "short, sharp, shock" of the much discussed "circuit-breaker" - but they may not be the last restrictions to be imposed this autumn either.

Tourism and hospitality industry leaders have warned that many businesses will never recover from the impact of any further restrictions.

But the first minister has said the new measures would seek to strike a balance between protecting health and the economy.

She has already ruled out a nationwide travel ban or the possibility of people being told to stay at home, and has pledged that schools will only close for the duration of the October holidays.

It seems likely the new restrictions will primarily be targeted at "hotspot" areas with high levels of the virus, potentially alongside some new but possibly less stringent national measures.

The first minister said on Monday the new measures would not amount to the lockdown seen in March

The rising number of cases in some cities was partly driven by a series of major outbreaks on university campuses - although the virus is increasingly being transmitted to older people too.

Many more rural areas have seen far fewer cases - and have questioned the need for any new rules to apply to them.

Paul Waterson, of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said the prospect of tighter restrictions following the 22:00 closure time for pubs and restaurants was already affecting the industry "very badly".

He told BBC Breakfast that Scotland could lose about a third of its pubs and about 25% of staff - or 12,500 people.

But he predicted that new restrictions could see these figure increase to two-thirds of premises and half of staff.

"To have more restrictions would really be a disaster, not only for pubs and bars but for the whole hospitality industry," he said.

The Federation of Small Businesses said days of uncertainty about what new measures would be imposed had been "unhelpful" and had caused more emotional strain for employers and staff.

It called on the Scottish government to outline what new support it would be offering to firms impacted by the restrictions, and warned not doing so would further erode the trust of the business community.

The Scottish Conservatives have also called on the Scottish government to offer more than "empty words" to businesses, and said it was time for it to "stop passing the buck back to the UK government".

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