Covid Scotland: Pubs and clubs launch collective court action against Scots minsters 'toxic' curbs

The 10pm curfew being imposed as licensed premises started to open up from last Monday was described by the NTIA as "devastating" for its hundreds of members who cannot trade as most of the revenue is made after this time.

It revealed that nightclubs, city centre bars and music venues have already had to cut 44% of the 43,000 staff it directly employs in normal times.

The NTIA has claimed that the majority of night time businesses could permanently close within weeks after running out of money to pay furlough contributions and fixed costs.

READ MORE: Ministers receive legal action threat to save Scotland's night-time industry

The Herald on Sunday revealed last weekend that the NTIA would have to consider a court challenge if urgent action is not taken.

And today (Friday) it confirmed it had no choice but to take the matter to the courts with concerns over a lack of action to support bars, pubs, nightclubs, live music venues, festivals and businesses in their supply chain.

The NTIA said the Scottish Government's latest Strategic Framework update confirmed businesses will be subject to the “commercially unviable levels system of restrictions” despite financial support being withdrawn by the end of April.

The Scottish Hospitality Group which represents 200 businesses across Scotland has also lambasted the over-restrictive trading times for pubs and restaurants.

The Monday opening has meant that alcohol can only be served outdoors till 10pm. But no alcohol can be served indoors, where there is an 8pm curfew, even with food.

Analysis by the CGA and AlixPartners Market Recovery Monitor, has revealed nearly 1000 licensed premises in Scotland had already shut in the year to January with the numbers dipping below the 10,000 mark.

The NTIA said: "It is with an extraordinary sense of disappointment and frustration that we confirm our intention to commence legal action against the Scottish Government and note our intent to proceed with a judicial review challenging the validity of all legal restrictions currently being imposed upon hospitality and night time economy businesses in Scotland under The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020.

"The hospitality sector in general, and late-night sector in particular, has been driven to the edge of insolvency by the severe restrictions in place since the start of the pandemic.

"Scottish Government support has been wholly inadequate to compensate for operating losses and a majority of businesses have now incurred unsustainable debt as a result. Even worse all strategic framework funding has now ended while there is no end date for the restrictions that make these businesses commercially unviable. 39,000 jobs are now at risk as a direct result.

"The reality is that the current emergency restrictions on opening, capacity, activities, and operating hours make thousands of businesses commercially unviable. Hospitality businesses typically operate on wafer thin profit margins, as little as 5%, while these restrictions can result in businesses suffering such immense declines in income that bankruptcy will be the inevitable result if they continue for much longer. "

The NTIA said it had recruited TLT Solicitors and the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Roddy Dunlop QC, to argue their case in Court at the earliest practical opportunity.

"Fixed costs such as rent, insurance, staff furlough costs, etc, have far exceeded the income coming in from revenue and grants, resulting in the typical small business owner in our sector incurring around £150,000 in covid related debt per premises, which represents many years’ worth of normal profits," the association said.

"Social distancing is toxic for businesses across numerous sectors of the economy, from restaurants, pubs and bars, wedding suppliers, music venues, nightclubs, coach tours, travel, and tourism, and many more. These can result in declines in capacity and therefore income of up to 75% and force businesses to trade at substantial losses even if allowed to open. Additional restrictions on live music, dancing, mandatory seated drinking, table service, and more, further reduce the ability of premises to generate sufficient custom to survive.

READ MORE: Night Time Industries Association: 'Scots ministers are bankrupting us'

"We accept that restrictions were initially necessary in the interests of public health, and indeed we not only fully supported previous measures taken, but also actively promoted the Government’s public health messages via social media channels and to our customer base.

"However, thanks to the heroic efforts of our NHS workers, vaccine researchers, and scientists, and the immensely successful roll-out of the vaccine, Covid-19 no longer presents the threat to public health that it did even a few short months ago. "All those at serious risk of hospitalisation or mortality have now been offered a vaccine, and take-up rates have been well above expectations.

"It is therefore the position of the NTIA that the restrictions imposed on hospitality businesses by Scottish Government with regards to capacity, activities and operating hours are no longer justifiable or proportionate and any continued application of such emergency restrictions would now be in breach of Article 1 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, which applies in the UK by virtue of the Human Rights Act 1998."

The Scottish Night Time Economy comprises over 1500 businesses and according to the NTIA generates £1.6bn per year into the national economy.

Businesses contribute more than £600m per year in tax revenue to government coffers.

An recent NTIA survey of businesses when asked to rate Government support on a scale of 1 to 10 gave ministers a score of just 2.8.

Some 85% said they will not survive if social distancing, activity, and opening hours restrictions continue for most of this year.

NTIA spokesman Gavin Stevenson, the managing director of the Mor-Rioghain Group which owns venues in Inverness and Aberdeen said: "While Scottish Government ministers have repeatedly paid lip service to the concept of consultation with the late night, music, culture, and licensed trade sectors, in reality there has been no meaningful consultation throughout the pandemic and little if any objective assessment regarding the balance of the four harms in many months.

Given the success of the vaccine programme and enormous damage being inflicted on Scottish businesses and their employees, the reluctance of Scottish Government to engage with our sector on a framework for full reopening appears little short of negligent, and the failure of government to adequately consider the harms being done to the economy, livelihoods, employment, and mental health is inexcusable."