THE Scottish Government is to be challenged on laws restricting hospitality and night-time economy businesses by a group of industry bosses.

The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) Scotland said that it was with an "extraordinary sense of disappointment and frustration" that the group will now commence legal action against the Scottish Government and challenge the validity of legal restrictions to their industry.

They said that 39,000 jobs are at risk as a result of closures due to the coronavirus pandemic and that some businesses have now incurred "unsustainable debt".

Gavin Stevenson, director of the Mor-Rioghain Group and vice-chair and spokesman for NTIA Scotland, said: "It is with an extraordinary sense of disappointment and frustration that we have commenced legal action against the Scottish Government.  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.

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"Any objective assessment would require the rapidly decreasing risks from coronavirus to be weighed against the existential threat that such measures represent to businesses, livelihoods, and employment. While also taking into account the consequential and foreseeable impact on wellbeing and mental health of business owners, employees and customers. It is clear such assessment is sorely lacking."

The group pointed to the success of the vaccine roll-out and figures of the hospitalisations of Covid patients relating to the number of people who have been vaccinated as evidence that restrictions are "no longer justifiable or proportionate".

Mike Grieve, managing director of Sub Club in Glasgow and chair of NTIA Scotland, said: "As things stand, we have no ability to trade, no indicative date for re-opening, no ongoing funding, and no prospect of keeping our staff in employment. Meanwhile, the oft quoted ‘scientific data’ backing the regular assertion from Scottish Government that hospitality settings are a significant factor in COIVD transmission, has yet to be produced. It is completely wrong to decimate an industry based on untested presumptions.

"As an industry, we accepted from the outset that we would be first to close and last to open and have continually offered to support the government in measures to inhibit Covid spread, whilst investing heavily in mitigating risks within our premises. Despite this, we have been marginalised to the point where even now, as other parts of hospitality start to re-open, we are not even included in the dialogue about re-opening at Level 0. The Scottish Government continues to treat us with complete indifference."

Currently, nightclubs are not allowed to open in Level 0, the lowest level of the Scottish Government's five-tier system of coronavirus restrictions.

The challenge to the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 Act will be brought in the Court of Session by NTIA Scotland.

The challenge will look at restrictions on hospitality for capacity, activities and operating hours. 

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A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "As we have previously said, we all want to get back to normal as soon as it is safely possible, but we must move very carefully to ensure continued suppression of the virus.

"The Strategic Framework Business Fund (SFBF) provided grants to businesses that were required to close by law or to significantly change their operation due to Covid-19 restrictions from 2 November 2020. Nightclubs were eligible for SFBF and will have now received restart grants of up to £19,500, equivalent to more than 6 months support provided by SFBF every four weeks.

"Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Top Up Grants of up to £25,000 per business premise were provided in recognition of the severity of the challenges that these sectors faced.

"The Scottish Government is also extending 100% non-domestic rates relief for retail, leisure, hospitality and aviation businesses for this financial year.

"In addition, one-off grants for nightclubs of up to £50,000, based upon rateable value, were made available last October through the Covid-19 Contingency Fund."