Belhaven Pub Partners has written to all its leased and tenanted partners outlining additional support it will provide them as pubs look to adapt to reopening post lockdown.

Since pubs closed for the Covid-19 lockdown, Belhaven has committed to providing a total support of almost £2m to its 120 leased and tenanted pubs in Scotland.

The latest update confirmed that every pub would receive a personal protective equipment (PPE) kit for reopening, including face masks, visors, gloves, and hand sanitiser gel.

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Each pub has also been offered Covid-19 signs for pub gardens and interiors, plus free online training courses covering Covid-19 topics such as service after lockdown and personal protection.

Belhaven Pub Partners managing director Wayne Shurvinton said: “We wanted to make this additional PPE investment as it’s the right thing to do for our partners, to give them the best platform possible to recover their business during this hugely challenging time for us all.

“We know there is no better investment we can make right now than backing our partners to succeed and this has been at the forefront of our minds throughout.

“I’m pleased that we can offer this next step of support for reopening, backing up our 90% rent discount for the first four weeks of reopening and 50% for the following four weeks, as well as discounts on casks and kegs as well.”

To date, Belhaven Pub Partners has offered the following financial support for its tenants incuding an estimated £1.25m of rent concessions and estimated £500,000 of product support, which includes the replacement of kegs and casks for unopened barrels that will be out of date when pubs reopen and discounts for tied tenants on kegs/casks purchased for the first eight weeks of reopening.

It also includes £30,000 on PPE starter kits for all tenanted pubs, and the £14,400 on Covid-19 safety signage for pubs.

Hospitality tech company Criton has partnered with restaurant tech experts Hungrrr to add a safe, contactless food ordering system to its award-winning hotel guest app.

The system which comes at no cost to the hoteliers allows guests to self-order and pay for food and drinks, whether in the hotel restaurant or in-room, via their own phone.

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As lockdown restrictions begin to be eased, the contactless solution, created by the two Scottish tech companies, will help hoteliers drive F&B revenues while maintaining physical distancing and safeguarding the health of their guests.

The partnership with Hungrrr is the latest move by Criton to help the hospitality sector digitise its guest interactions and reduce the number of physical touchpoints. In May, Criton announced that its platform would be completely free until 2021, enabling more hoteliers to transition to digital services as the pandemic forces many to re-evaluate everything from booking to concierge services.

Since the offer was made, Criton has significantly increased the number of hotels using its white-labelled app, which can be branded and configured to suit the individual property.

Julie Grieve, founder and chief executive of Criton, said: "Our partnership with Hungrrr is the perfect solution for hotels re-assessing their F&B services ready for when they can welcome guests once again.

“Digitising the guest journey has never been more important and it is heartening to see the commitment by the sector as a whole to embrace new ways of working. All hoteliers will need to instil confidence and the additional capabilities of the app now mean that they can also offer their guests a simple, contactless way to order and pay from a restaurant or bar menu while maintaining physical distancing.

“The solution can be used for room service, restaurant ordering and takeaway, both by in- house guests and casual diners. It is the perfect complement to the existing features of our guest app and I am particularly pleased that the partnership with Hungrrr effectively allows hotels to minimise spend as they reopen.”

Scott Campbell, commercial director of Hungrrr, said: "We are very proud that our platform has been chosen by Criton to assist hoteliers as they reopen their hotels. The system has been developed over several years and it is hard to imagine a piece of software more perfectly designed than our platform to assist businesses in this current challenging environment.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Criton in partnership on this project. We greatly admire their technology and their team. We very much look forward to a long and mutually beneficial business relationship.”

Unemployment in Scotland rose between February and April as the impact of lockdown was felt, according to latest statistics.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that over that period, the unemployment rate for people aged over 16 rose to 4.6%, a 1.1% increase on the previous quarter.

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This was higher than the UK unemployment rate of 3.9%.

The number of people aged 16 to 64 in employment in the three months ending in April fell to 74.3%, a 0.7% drop on the previous quarter.

The figures reflect the impact of a month of lockdown which started on March 23.

Business Minister Jamie Hepburn said: "Between February and April 2020, Scotland's employment rate estimate fell over the quarter to 74.3% and the unemployment rate estimate rose over the quarter to 4.6%.

"These are the first labour market statistics to include a full month of lockdown measures, and show clearly the scale of the challenge facing Scotland as a result of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

"I know that many people will be feeling a deep sense of anxiety about their livelihoods. Keeping people in work while supporting those who have lost their jobs will continue to be at the heart of our thinking as we carefully reopen the economy.

"Scotland's labour market has changed drastically since the lockdown measures were imposed."

He added: "While the Scottish Government has welcomed the support schemes from HMRC during this time, and their extension, it is important that we ensure this support continues to be offered for as long as required, particularly in sectors such as tourism, hospitality, retail, culture, and oil and gas, which will not have fully recovered by October.

"That is why we are urging the UK Government to work with us to ensure support reflects what is required in Scotland.

"Failure to do so will put the economy at a competitive disadvantage in recovering from this crisis, and could result in additional job losses.

"We must not allow that to happen."