Guidance Archives - Page 34 of 35

New Restrictions: What do they Mean?

Posted on October 29, 2020October 29, 2020 by Fiona Campbell

A new five level system for Scotland will come into place on Monday 2^nd November at 6am. But practically speaking, what does this mean? There is a great deal of confusion about the levels and they were not set in stone until Wednesday evening after the Scottish Government’s Parliamentary debate. The current situation is explained below:

At the First Minister’s stated that the level a local authority will be placed in will be reviewed weekly. The proposals will be put to Parliament every Tuesday and the changes will take effect every Friday. Premises will therefore have three days warning of changes coming into effect. The next update will be Tuesday 10^th November, changes will come into effect from Friday 13^th November and it will follow that pattern weekly thereafter.

Levels will be applied to a whole local authority area from 6am on Monday 2^nd November, but the Scottish Government will review that and Council areas may be divided into sub areas if that is deemed necessary.

There will be no automatic application of a single statistic – the First Minister said these only inform and guide and the Scottish Government will, at first, be deliberately cautious. The hope is to slow rate of new cases and the overall aim is to get every Council area to level 1 then level 0 of the framework.

While people should be able to meet in level 1 indoors, there is no indoor meeting allowed at present unless in a hospitality setting. This may change soon for those in level 1.

Dundee City was hoped to be in level 2 but is in level 3 due to statistics.

North and South Lanarkshire could still end up in level 4 depending on statistics which are being reviewed daily. The decision on whether to move these Councils into level 4 will also be reviewed daily – not very helpful for hospitality venues with perishable stock and staff rotas completed who may have to close at less than 24 hours’ notice.

The First Minister stated all businesses affected can get help through the findbusinesssupport.gov.scot website.

A Christmas Loneliness strategy was also discussed. It is hoped the licensed and hospitality trades will be able to be open for Christmas and numbers able to meet indoors or in hospitality venues will be extended to facilitate family and friends meeting over the festive season and avoid loneliness and isolation.

The Scottish Government says it has expanded testing and will be taking steps to better support individuals, especially re self-isolation. A post code checker will be introduced to help businesses and individuals identify what area they are in therefore what level they fall into at any time. This will be particularly important if Councils are divided into sub areas as boundaries can be blurred and individuals and businesses need to be clear on what they can and cannot do.

The Council areas allocated to the various levels at present are:

Level 1 – Highland; Moray; Orkney; Shetland; Western Isles
Level 2 – Aberdeen; Aberdeenshire; Angus; Argyll & Bute; Borders; Dumfries & Galloway; Fife; Perth & Kinross
Level 3 – City of Glasgow; City of Edinburgh; Clackmannanshire; Dundee; East Dunbartonshire; East Lothian; East Renfrewshire; East Ayrshire; Falkirk; Inverclyde; Midlothian; North Ayrshire; North Lanarkshire; Renfrewshire; South Ayrshire; South Lanarkshire; Stirling; West Dunbartonshire; West Lothian
Level 4 – no Council area is in level 4 although there was discussion that North and South Lanarkshire could still end up in level 4 depending on figures.

What do the various levels allow?

Level 0 – Eight people from up to three households can meet indoors (with limited exceptions); fifteen people from up to five households can meet outdoors. Different rules apply to children and the Scottish Government will confirm this. Licensing curfews will be put in place and eating and drinking may only take place seated at tables – no vertical drinking (or eating). Takeaways are permitted for alcohol and food. Exceptions apply – hospitals, schools, student accommodation, airside premises, and hotel room service and meals for residents are excluded. Self-catering accommodation, hotels, B&Bs, self-catering, caravan and camp sites can open but restrictions above regarding socialising, hospitality rules and travel restrictions apply. Self-catering properties are still regarded as a private home so are still subject to the restrictions re numbers able to meet indoors. Non-essential travel is not allowed from a level 0 area to a level 3 or higher areas nor to equivalent areas in the rest of UK but there are exemptions for essential travel for work, education, shopping, health, outdoor exercise, weddings and funerals, shared parenting and transit through restricted areas. International quarantine regulations apply but otherwise travel is unrestricted.
Level 1 – Six people from two households can meet indoors and outdoors but not from 2^nd November. That will apply only outdoors and even level 2 areas cannot meet other families indoors except for the limited restrictions. Hospitality would in general be open but there will be a 10.30pm curfew. Weddings and life events are restricted to a maximum of 20 people. Indoor contact sports for adults are not permitted. Only those who cannot work from home can go to their place of work. Informal childcare is allowed
Level 2 – No indoor meeting is allowed, with limited exceptions. Six people from two households can meet outdoors and in hospitality settings. Licensed premises can only serve alcohol indoors with a main meal and only until 8pm. Premises can serve food, non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks outdoors until 10pm. Cinemas, bingo halls and amusement arcades can open. Gyms can open. Other leisure and entertainment premises are closed. Informal childcare is allowed.
Level 3 – Cafes, pubs and restaurants can open until 6pm to serve food and non-alcoholic drinks but no sale of alcohol indoors nor outdoors. Leisure and entertainment venues, including cinemas, will be closed. Non-essential travel is not allowed out with an area in level 3. Indoor exercise is restricted to individuals – no dance or spin classes. Informal childcare is allowed. No indoor meeting is allowed, with limited exceptions. Accommodation, hotels, B&Bs, self-catering, caravan and camp sites can open but socialising, hospitality rules and travel restrictions apply. The Scottish Government guidance advises non-essential, leisure and tourism use is only to be by locals. Essential travel such as work-related travel can continue.

In summary, level 3 for restaurants, cafes, bars, public houses means indoors and outdoors – no alcohol; 5pm last entry; 6pm closed (a hard close – no drinking up time)

Level 4 – similar to lockdown restrictions in place from March to July. Schools remain open but all non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants, gyms, libraries, barbers and hairdressers are closed. Some outdoor meeting will be allowed but that has to be clarified.

Thanks to Joanna Millar, Legal Director, Gilson Gray LLP for this briefing.

The ASSC asked the Scottish Government to consider various issues in advance of the announcements today: Strategic Framework Points for Clarification. We very much hope that these points have been considered and will be addressed in the coming days.

The Scottish Government will issue a Q&A document tomorrow, which we will distribute as soon as we can.

Read the Scottish Tourism Alliance’s response.

STA Responds to First Minister’s 5 Levels Announcement

Posted on October 29, 2020 by Fiona Campbell

“Our industry has been bracing itself for today’s announcement around the tightening of levels of restrictions which will come into force on Monday and the expected wave of cancellations throughout Scotland’s hospitality and tourism sectors which will happen as a result.

“As an industry, we have always understood the need to balance public health and the economy, however we are now at a point where many hundreds of businesses simply do not have the income or funding support to remain solvent. Businesses in Tier 2 areas had hoped for an upturn in business following the slight ease of restrictions as the majority of custom in Tier 2 would have been likely to come from the Central Belt area, however due to the new travel restrictions, this will not be possible.

It is absolutely critical now that all tourism and hospitality businesses impacted by these restrictions in whatever tier they are in have immediate access to a strengthened package of support from the Scottish Government to enable them to meet their overheads and retain what staff they had hoped to keep on their payroll over the coming weeks and beyond to avoid permanent closure and a significant wave of redundancies.

The STA has formally requested a meeting with the First Minister to discuss the impact of the new restrictions and our renewed call for a robust package of support for the sector.”

Marc Crothall, Chief Executive, STA

Scotland’s Strategic Framework

Posted on October 23, 2020October 23, 2020 by Fiona Campbell

The First Minister announced that restrictions for hospitality would be extended for another week (until 2 November). A five-level framework which will allow for a refreshed strategic approach to suppressing COVID-19 outbreaks across Scotland has been published.

In the coming days the Scottish Government will engage with local government, stakeholders, economic groups and other partners, prior to a final version of the strategic framework being debated in parliament next Tuesday (27 October). ASSC meets with the Scottish Government tomorrow (24 October).

Level Zero

This is the lowest possible level of restrictions and will be the “closest to normality” Scots will see without a vaccine or effective treatment. It will be “similar to the measures in place during the summer” and is designed to be “sustainable for longer periods”.

Travel will be unrestricted apart from areas in Level Three or above and to equivalent areas in the rest of the UK.
Hotels and other accommodation will be allowed to open, with hospitality all open with potential opening time limits.
Face coverings will still be mandatory in public transport, with shops, hairdressers, beauty salons, libraries and other public buildings allowed to open.
Events will be allowed with indoor events having restricted numbers, with stadiums open with restricted numbers, but grouped standing not allowed indoors.
Places of worship will be allowed to open with a limit of 50 people, with the same limit to apply to weddings, funerals and wakes.
Outdoor exercise, leisure and entertainment venues, visitor attractions, schools, indoor childcare will be allowed to open and all sport will be permitted.
Nightclubs and adult entertainment will not be allowed to open.
Offices and call centres will be expected to operate on a work from home default basis.
However, social distancing and limits on the number of people gatherings will apply with limits of eight people from three households indoors, and 15 people from five households outdoors.

Level One:

Identical to Level Zero, but with the rule of six in place for indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Places of worship will be allowed to open with a limit of 50 people, but the limit for weddings, funerals and wakes will drop to 20.
Adult indoor contact sport will be banned, with outdoor standing events banned and small indoor events allowed.
Offices and call centres will be expected to operate on an essential basis only.

Level Two:

The Scottish government states that Levels Two and Three will be when there is an “increased incidence” of the virus and increased community transmission. The measures would be in place for relatively short periods, from between two to four weeks at a time to get the virus down to a sustainable level. Level Two has similar restrictions to Level One, but with a ban on in-home socialising between households.

Stadiums will be shut at this level, with all events bar drive-in events also forced to be cancelled.
Schools and childcare will also see enhanced protective measures in place.
Soft play, funfairs, indoor bowling, theatres, snooker/pool halls, music venues, casinos, bingo halls, nightclubs and adult entertainment will also be forced to shut, with cinemas and amusement arcades allowed to open.
There will also be reduced face-to-face public services such as in the NHS.
Indoor alcohol sales will also be restricted to solely be available with a meal in hospitality.
Mobile close contact services such as hairdressers are no longer permitted at this level

Level Three:

Broadly similar to Level Two, but with non-essential accommodation services only open to locals for tourism or for business users. There will also be a travel ban for those living within areas in Level Three with: “no non-essential travel into or out of the level 3 area”.

People will also be asked to avoid non-essential use of public transport.
At this level, all events are cancelled and no fans are allowed in stadiums.
Indoor sport is restricted to individual exercise only and outdoor contact sport is banned for adults.
All leisure and entertainment venues will be forced to shut and public services will reduce to essential face-to-face only.
Sale of alcohol in hospitality will be banned at this level.
Colleges and universities will be in ‘restricted blended’ learning mode, rather than a normal blended approach.

Level Four:

Level Four is the closest level to full lockdown seen in March. The Scottish government will use this when there is “very high or rapidly increasing” incidence of the virus and designed to provide a “short, sharp response” to suppress the virus.

As well as all of the restrictions in Level Three, all hospitality bar hotels will be shut and only essential workplaces will be allowed to remain open.
Indoor childcare will be forced to stop, informal childcare will only be allowed for essential workers, gyms will shut, but schools will remain open.
Weddings will be restricted to five people, public buildings such as libraries will shut as will all hairdressers and beauty salons and other similar services.
Shops will also shut apart from essential shops, with no use of public transport allowed either.
At this level, there may also be a limit on the distance of travel and a potential ‘stay at home’ message.
Tourism will also be shut at this level.
At her daily coronavirus briefing where she announced the new framework, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the framework tries to “balance different types of harm”.
She said: “It has become increasingly clear that we need to update our approach to tackling Coronavirus to adapt to this latest phase of the pandemic. The draft strategic framework we are publishing sets out how we intend to do that.
“In the coming days, we will listen to views from stakeholders on any suggested changes they might have, or how they would like to see it implemented. Although the framework we have published is new, the principles behind it will be familiar.
“I know that when people hear the daily figures it’s easy to feel as though the hard sacrifices we are all living with are not making a difference. But by taking these difficult steps we will help suppress the virus, and that is why I am asking everyone to stick with it.”

Financial support

From 2 November, firms that are required by law to close will be eligible for grants every four weeks for as long as the restrictions last. Based on rateable values, awards will be for either £2,000 or £3,000.

Businesses which can remain open, but are directly constrained by the measures, will be eligible for grants worth £1,400 or £2,100, again based on rateable value.

This support is in addition to the UK Government’s revised furlough scheme launching on 1 November.

The Scottish Government will work with local authorities to ensure grants are made available quickly and efficiently.

Engagement

Further details on which local authority areas of Scotland will fall under which levels will be announced following discussions with directors of public health and local authorities, taking on board recommendations from the national incident management team, before coming into force on 2 November.

Additional information

Link to Coronavirus (COVID-19): Scotland’s Strategic Framework published today.

Link to the First Minister’s full statement.

Link to strategic framework press release.

Link to financial support press release.