COLIN BORLAND

OK, so what do we do now?

We’ve pulled the shutters down, locked our children up and, if we’re lucky, have joined the ranks of the homeworkers.

If you’ve managed to keep your job (or at least have a job to go back to) or to keep your business going so far, you can definitely count yourself as fortunate. Many haven’t. And many more are facing an at best uncertain future.

Clearly, we can’t go on like this forever. Psychologically, we need some sort of end-point to aim for – not to mention a route map to get us there.

The Scottish Government’s new framework for exiting lockdown, published last week, might not yet be that map. But it does at least give us an idea of how they will approach the tough decisions that will need to be taken as we look to get the country moving again.

It’s clear from the document that there will be all sorts of delicate balances to be struck. We are assured, though, that “evidence on the impact on the economy and society, in particular more at-risk communities” will be “critical to any decision making.”

In other words, decisions need to be taken in the round. We can’t reduce this debate to public health versus the economy, when we know their fortunes are intrinsically linked. It’s accepted there’s a clear link between poverty and ill-health, just as there’s a direct link between collapse of industry and poverty. So it’s a mistake to think that going longer and harder on lockdown won’t be without consequences for public health in the long run.

How, then, do we help small businesses exit lockdown safely?

First, the basic, underlying message could shift. Thus far, what we’ve heard could be paraphrased as, “If it’s not essential to tackling the national emergency, don’t do it.” Leaving aside the difficulties around translating this into practical, consistent guidance about who could do what, when and where, isn’t the key question, “If you can work safely, what can we do to get you back to business?”

For example, a self-employed tradesperson may be able to work alone safely, respecting social distancing rules. They might have no shortage of potential customers, but can’t undertake any jobs as their suppliers aren’t able to operate. Thus, we would turn our attention to how we get the builders’ merchants, manufacturers and others who service these trades back up and running.

Equally, if, as the First Minister has warned, social distancing measures are going to be a fact of life for some time, we need to think about the practical support that businesses will need so they can comply and re-open.

That will require detailed, unambiguous guidance so that business owners can be reassured that what they are doing is compliant (or indeed advised on what they need to do become compliant). Ideally, this would be backed up by a helpline where they could get answers to their specific questions.

We also need to look at any practical barriers to this compliance. If, say, you need to install clear plastic screens at your tills, how do you make sure shop-fitters are able to get the supplies they need to get back to work?

A return to business as usual doesn’t look like an imminent prospect for many of us. And it’s a sad fact that certain businesses in certain areas will find it near-impossible to re-open while social distancing rules continue in their current form.

But, where firms can do business safely, they should be supported to get trading. And celebrated for it.

Colin Borland is director of devolved nations for the Federation of Small Businesses.