As governments begin to think about how to begin lifting lockdown measures and allowing more day-to-day activities to resume, Brian Whittle MSP wants to see the Scottish Government delivering clear and simple guidance to businesses about when and how they can reopen.
South Scotland MSP Brian called on Finance Secretary Kate Forbes to ensure businesses received detailed guidance on what steps they would need to take, and what they would be able to do when. He also stressed the importance of giving businesses the confidence to reopen as soon as it’s practical. Brian suggested that as other businesses are able to reopen, governments would be able to direct more financial support to businesses working in the tourism, hospitality and events sectors, which are likely to remain shut for some time yet.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“No business should reopen before it’s safe to do so, but when it is safe, the guidance and advice from government needs to be easily understood.
Businesses are going to be faced with big challenges as some lockdown measures begin to ease, from implementing social distancing to finding whole new ways of interacting with customers and adapting supply chains.
The last thing they need is guidance that’s unclear or slow to arrive or lacks detail. It’s massively important that business owners, their staff and customers all have the confidence that they can safely take steps towards returning to normal.
As businesses are able to resume trading, they will need less financial support, but there will still be hotels, restaurants, events venues and others who will need help for longer. By getting businesses who can operate safely back up and running it gives us the potential to deliver more support to those who have to stay shut.”
