The Scottish Government is expected to unveil its refreshed Covid Framework tomorrow (22 Feb).

The pandemic and associated government restrictions have taken a heavy toll on Scotland’s retail sector. Last month the Scottish Retail Consortium published estimates showing that Scotland’s shops had missed out on £5.8 billion of lost sales during the past two years due to the pandemic. Separate figures earlier this month from SRC and partners KPMG and SensomaticIQ showed retail sales and shopper footfall in Scotland have yet to climb their way back to pre-pandemic levels. One in six shops is lying vacant.

The Scottish Retail Consortium is calling for:

  • A timeline for rescinding the regulations and statutory guidance affecting shops on the use of plastic screens and barriers, physical distancing in queues, floor markings etc
  • Clarity on the future statutory requirement for customers to wear face coverings in stores
  • A concerted effort and an upbeat message to encourage and entice people back into city centres

The regulations affecting retailers on physical distancing and up to fifty other mitigations and measures are contained in the Retailer Checklist, which became legally enforceable on 17 December at the same time as the work-from-home mandate. Despite last month’s positive move to rescind the work-from-home order, the regulations and statutory guidance affecting shops and other workplaces remains in place. The wearing of face coverings in stores has been mandated since 10 July 2020, but has ended in Northern Ireland and England and is ending in Wales next month.

Speaking ahead of the First Minister’s statement to Parliament, David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said:

Strong progress has been made in battling the pandemic. As we move towards a new phase in dealing with Covid, the SRC is looking for a timeframe for ending the remaining restrictions that shops must follow, including such things as the installing of perspex screens, maintaining physical distancing in queuing and floor markings. Many shops are still trying to find their feet after twenty-three months of complying with Covid restrictions with an inevitable impact on shopper footfall and sales, and would welcome early visibility over plans to remove these final curbs.
Over and above this we need to see a concerted plan with a more upbeat message to encourage and entice shoppers back to our city centres. The rescinding of restrictions provides a timely opportunity to breathe life back into city centre retailing which has been hit especially hard by the exodus of office workers and tourists during the pandemic.