Pleas for help for the 'forgotten piece' of the Hospitality sector

MP for Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine Andrew Bowie has urged both the UK and Scottish Government to consider what they can do to help the events industry, and all the contractors who contribute to it ahead of their "third winter".

Author: Lewis MichiePublished 5th Nov 2020

A North East MP has made a plea for both the Scottish and UK Governments to support an industry about to go through its “third winter” this year.

West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie called for targeted support for the weddings and events industry, which he said feels “left behind” in consideration of Covid-19 restrictions.

As it involves up to 20 contractors to run an average wedding, he said the March lockdown and subsequent tightening of restrictions since October had affected far more than “headline” venues.

In the Commons chamber, Mr Bowie said the weddings, events and conference industry are “big business” in a constituency that has natural advantages such as “the castle trail, Royal Deeside, Strathdon, the Cairngorm mountains and the Howe of the Mearns.”

He said:

“I want to make a special plea to the governments here and in Edinburgh for part of the hospitality sector that feels that it has been left behind.

“Weddings, events and conferences are big business. The wedding industry alone in my constituency makes about £15 million a year...

“When we speak of an events company suffering or a wedding being postponed, it is not just the wedding organiser or the conference organiser — the headline company — that suffers, but a long list of suppliers and contractors who work for and with them, such as lighting specialists, sound engineers, musicians, caterers, photographers, flower arrangers and private vehicle hire to mention but a few.

“I ask the governments here and in Edinburgh to remember the forgotten people of the hospitality sector as we move through winter.

“For them, it will be the third winter this year.”

Conservative Mr Bowie asked the Treasury to take account of the industry in the same way it has provided for frontline hospitality and catering.

Suki Hudson runs Hudson's Catering in Aberdeenshire, she says it's been an incredibly difficult and worrying time.

She told Northsound:

"I've had 20 of my employees on furlough, we have no jobs - we can't top them up."

"There is no money, and we've had no funding at all because people in government just don't understand."

"We love our staff, we love all the colleagues we work with - there are events companies all over Scotland in a similar situation to ours. We just need some funding to get them through to the next stage, but we don't know when the next stage is"

"People say 'oh you'll have so many events for next year' well yes, but we don't know when they'll be, how big they'll be, how do we continue with no money to top up peoples' wages?, it's shocking"

"I now know of companies that have pulled the plug, there have been suicides in our industry, it's a hideous thing to say, but someone has to face up to the fact that Scotland's tourism industry is going to go down the tubes unless something is done by the Government."