Scottish hospitality to see return of social distancing alongside £100m support package

Hospitality businesses in Scotland will have to re-introduce social distancing measures and collect contact details of customers under new guidance to stop the spread of the Omicron variant.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish government will amend regulations to make it a legal requirement for businesses to take steps to minimise the risk of transmission.

Guidance will be released for different sectors this week, but in hospitality this will include steps to reduce crowding at bars and between tables.

A £100m fund is being made available to help affected businesses, mainly in the hospitality, culture and food supply sectors, which is expected to be distributed "as soon as possible".

Those who cannot work from home, such as hospitality staff, are being encouraged to test regularly before going to work.

People are also being asked to limit socialising at home and at indoor public spaces to a maximum of three households in the run up to Christmas and directly afterwards, though this will not be legally enforced.

However, Sturgeon said she was not asking people to change or cancel plans on Christmas Day, or whenever they chose to celebrate.

"I know this is a tough thing to ask people to do, especially at this time of year," said Sturgeon.

Hospitality businesses in Scotland have been calling for more financial support after Sturgeon backed advice for people to defer Christmas parties last week. Operators said they were forced to cut staff hours and reduce supplier orders after seeing a huge drop in bookings.

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) said the announcement was "another blow" for pubs who were now likely to see further cancellations.

Joe Crawford, CAMRA's Scotland director, said: "A £100m fund to help hospitality businesses is welcome but won't be sufficient to compensate businesses at this crucial time when they were relying on decent Christmas trade to help them recover and rebuild."

Meanwhile, the Treasury has announced further funding from the UK reserve will be made available to devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to help support businesses and with the vaccine rollout. The amount will be set in the coming days and kept under review in the following weeks.

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