Call for more clarity for businesses on the return to the office
The Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce are hitting out at "mixed messaging" from the Scottish Government.
Businesses in the North East, and around Scotland, need more clarity on the return to the office, according to the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce.
On Tuesday the First Minister set out life "beyond level 0" of Covid restrictions in Scotland, but some still feel they are being left in the dark on when they'll truly be back to normal.
Business Chiefs at the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce have warned the Government need to make things clearer for companies, so that they can plan ahead.
"Unfortunately, while there are some clear and meaningful steps forward - such as the removal of physical distancing and the reopening of all businesses in the night-time economy - this isn’t the ‘beyond level zero’ that many envisioned." Said Shane Taylor, the Chamber's Policy Manager.
"Businesses still aren’t being given a straight shot to deliver the desperately needed work to rebuild prosperity in communities rocked by the economic impact of COVID." He continued.
"Mixed messaging on the return to the office, continued restrictions on hospitality and convoluted approval processes and capacity limits on our live events sector will all act to constrain our recovery ambitions. For many of these rules, the timescales for their removal are yet to be laid out."
The Chamber say that without a clear route back to normality, it'll be difficult for the economy, and many businesses, to properly recover from the impact on Covid-19.
Taylor said:
“Moving beyond level zero should have been the moment where the economic recovery truly began, instead, remaining restrictions continue to hollow out our city centres and put our world-class live events and culture sector at risk. The Scottish Government must immediately set out indicative dates and an endpoint to the COVID rules that remain in force.
“Crucially, this must remove any ambiguity on the return to the office, giving businesses and employees the space to come to arrangements which work for them.”