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Category: Regulations

First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Housing Fail to Respond to Industry Letters

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

The ASSC and other tourism industry bodies have failed to receive a response from either the First Minister or the Cabinet Secretary for Housing to the attached letters they have received seeking urgent reconsideration of the proposed Short-Term Let Licensing legislation,  despite it going to a vote in Parliament this afternoon.  This lack of courtesy embodies the antipathy the Scottish Government clearly feels towards the ASSC, the wider tourism industry and small businesses that this legislation will detrimentally impact.

Letter to First Minister 5.1.22

Letter to First Minister 13th January 2022

Letter to Shona Robison 13.1.22

Meanwhile, letters received by ASSC members from their MSPs clearly illustrate that this continues to be driven by concern for lack of housing, despite the Cabinet Secretary for Housing’s assurances that licensing is about “basic health and safety”  and that overprovision powers have been removed. They have not, and we have legal opinion to evidence this.

It was made abundantly clear at the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee that the intention is to “mange down” the number of short-term lets. In addition, the Committee voted the legislation through, apparently, to safeguard against “potential criminality” associated with the sector: sex trafficking, drug dealing and puppy farming. despite there being no evidence for such sensationalist claims.

First Minister’s Statement 18th January 2022

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

The First Minister updated Parliament today on COVID-19 and confirmed that additional measures aimed at stemming the spread of the Omicron variant whilst the vaccination booster programme took effect are to be lifted.

The First Minister provided a Covid-19 update to the Scottish Parliament which covered the following issues:

  • Latest statistics: 7,752 positive cases were reported yesterday through PCR and LFTs. 1,546 people are in hospital with Covid (-21) and 59 people are in intensive care (+1). A further 31 deaths were reported, taking the total number of deaths under the daily definition to 10,093.
  • The FM confirmed the Scottish Government’s steps in lifting the protective measures against omicron which were introduced in December. She added that “the data gives us confidence that we have turned the corner on the Omicron wave” but “significant pressures and uncertainties remain”. She claimed that a combination of booster vaccinations, the willingness of the public to adapt behaviours, and the “temporary protective measures” had helped suppress the impact of the Omicron wave.
  • The following measures would be lifted from Monday 24th January: limits on attendance at indoor public events, the requirement for 1m social distancing in indoor public places, table service in hospitality venues serving alcohol, and the closure of nightclubs. Furthermore, from this date, the guidance on asking people to stick to the three household limit with indoor gatherings would be removed.
  • However, the mitigation measures that were in place before omicron will be retained at this stage. She also noted that the Scottish Government would not extend the vaccine certification scheme to other venues.
  • People will continue to be asked to work from home whenever possible, with employers asked to facilitate this. However, the Government will engage with businesses now about a return to a more hybrid approach from the start of February if case numbers continue to decline.

Press Release: ‘Last Chance to Save Scottish Self-Catering’ Ahead of Parliament Vote

Posted on by Fiona Campbell

The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) has warned that an upcoming vote at Holyrood is the’ “last chance” to save the Scottish self-catering sector from a damaging new licensing scheme.

It is expected that on Wednesday, MSPs will decide whether to impose a restrictive licensing scheme on thousands of small businesses across Scotland amid what the association has previously described as a “perfect storm” of hardship experienced by the sector.

If the licensing order is passed, traditional self-caterers will have to stump up for expensive fees at a time during which many are already struggling with impact of COVID-19, as well as the prospect of control areas and a tourism levy making the picture even more dire.

Despite the ASSC’s repeated calls, ministers have so far failed to take their expert advice and copious evidence into account and now seem intent on destroying Scotland’s vital self-catering sector through over-regulation.

Former Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Fergus Ewing MSP, has also weighed-in to the debate, branding his own government’s regulations as “arbitrary, irrational, and draconian” in a stinging attack on the misguided plans.

ASSC members have repeatedly called on the Scottish Government, and MSPs from all parties, to rally behind Scottish tourism and create an environment in which they can continue to help visitors, and Scots seeking a break, to have memory-making holidays rather than continuing this dangerous and damaging course of action.

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

“This vote is nothing short of the last chance to save self-catering in Scotland which boosts the economy by £867m per year.

“We are at the end of the line and MSPs have a very clear choice to make; either they can support Scottish small businesses, or they can choose to cave into hearsay, unevidenced claims, and anti-tourism agitators.

“When MSPs push their voting buttons in parliament, they should know that they do so with the future of a vitally important Scottish industry at stake and we urge them to make the correct decision by throwing this out to protect jobs and livelihoods.

ENDS