A co-leader of Aberdeen City Council has revealed concern businesses in the north and north-east not directly forced to close down tomorrow could miss out on emergency funding.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday announced the licensed trade in some central belt areas would be forced to shutdown for 16 days from this weekend.
Outside the epicentre of the latest outbreak of coronavirus trading, restrictions will be introduced too, including restricted opening hours between 6am and 6pm and a ban on alcohol sales indoors.
The Scottish Government is to make £40 million available to help businesses.
Last night, as news broke of temporary venue closures in the face of the new measures, Aberdeen Conservative leader Douglas Lumsden told The P&J: “This all stems back to having a lockdown in Aberdeen – which worked – and the first minister failing to take that action in Glasgow six weeks ago.
“Now we are all paying the price for her inaction.
“But my main concern is, with the closure of many pubs and restaurants hasn’t been enforced, that they will miss out on the support funding.”
His calls for a fair share of the relief cash was echoed by North East Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald.
He said: “The hospitality industry in Aberdeen is facing a significant reduction in revenue over the next three weeks, on top of the losses already suffered because of the Scottish Government-imposed local lockdown in August.
“Because of this, it is vital that bars and restaurants in Aberdeen are also able to benefit from the much-needed extra Scottish Government funding.”
