Murdo Fraser said that the self-catering sector had been “lumped in” with hotels and B&Bs in Phase 3 when it was perfectly possible that individuals could book a cottage or lodge and take appropriate social distancing measures when it would not be possible in the other types of accommodation. He asked if the Scottish Government would reconsider the placing of self-catering in the routemap in order to enable differentiation.
In response, the Deputy First Minister said that the Scottish Government were continuing to look at the routemap to determine whether all the components within the individual phases were in the correct position. He said he “understood” the points raised by Murdo Fraser and had received representations from businesses and individuals in his constituency, as well as the Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing. In terms of the overall placing of accommodation providers in Phase 3, he said that there had to be an “appropriate staging” of opening and to recognise the cumulative impact and danger of infectiousness within society but he reiterated that the Scottish Government would continue to look carefully at this.
Rachael Hamilton MSP and Jackie Baillie MSP have also been encouraging self-catering being moved into phase 2, following discussion with the ASSC: Read more.