Hospitality bodies start legal process

Five of Scotland’s leading hospitality bodies have taken the unprecedented step of commencing the legal process against restrictions imposed on the licensed trade by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Beer & Pub Association, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, UK Hospitality (Scotland), the Scottish Hospitality Group and the Night Time Industries Association Scotland have joined forces to try to help save the sector from further catastrophe.

The move will not just foc us on the small to medium independent businesses, but also the large corporate multioperators that operate w i th in Sco t land ’s hospitality industry.

With independents, groups and operators under intense pressure to fight for the survival of their businesses and the jobs they provide, the five bodies served the Scottish Government with the preaction letter yesterday morning.

It follows the trade bodies receiving an opinion by prominent legal expert Aidan O’Neill QC advising that a Judicial Review would be warranted.

The letter requests a response to legal challenges from the Sco tt ish Government by 4pm next Wednesday, failing which matters could move forward with a Petition for Judicial Review.

In a joint statement, the group’s spokesperson, Paul Waterson, said: “It is with regret that we now commence with this first stage in the legal process.

“We understand and entirely support the goal of suppressing the virus, but our sector is at breaking point.

“Despite having more mitigation measures than other sectors and the vast majority of operators going above and beyond in ensuring customer safety, our sector has been repeatedly targeted without consultation and without the evidence.

“Anecdotal evidence is not the way to go about mak ing government decisions, and the sector should not be used as a balance to uncontrollable risks in other far less regulated and unmonitored sectors.

“Evidence just published in Northern Ireland clearly states that the closure of hospitality only has an

“0.1- 0.2 impact on the R number ” and that the lockdown there has been brought about to ensure behavioural and policy compliance in other areas – effectively confirming that the hospitality industry has been held up as the sacrificial lamb.

“The economic support offered to premises doesn’t come close to compensating the businesses and means jobs are being lost and livelihoods ruined.

“Any measures must be proportionate and be backed up by evidence, we do not believe that is the case here.

“The industry simply cannot endure the extension of the current restr ict ion , further restrictive measures expected from the 2nd of November or get into a stop-start situation.

“We are now facing the end of our industry as we know it.

“The battle is now on to save the hospitality sector.”

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We are now facing the end of our industry as we know it

RESTRICTIONS: Pubs outwith the central belt are only allowed to serve alcohol outdoors and until 10pm during the current measures aimed at tackling the spread of coronavirus. Picture by Steve MacDougall.