Association of Scotland’s Self Caterers publishes sectoral survey on social gathering impact of single house restrictions

The ASSC ran a survey late last week in light of the Scottish Government’s announcement of further restrictions to social gatherings, excluding the self-catering sector from the Rule of Six down to only one household.

This followed the Scottish Government’s clarification on its position regarding self-catering and its inclusion in the cap on the number of households that can meet.

The online survey elicited 1136 responses from both ASSC members and non-ASSC members in 48 hours.

Key Findings:

o Almost three-quarters have been negatively impacted financially by the new restrictions.
o Nearly 60% of self-caterers have already experienced cancellations.
o 42% expect financial losses of between £1,000-£10,000 up until the end of the year, 17% expect losses of between £10,000 and £20,000, while 13% expect more than £20,000.
o Three quarters of self-caterers are somewhat or very pessimistic about their business over the next 3 to 6 months.
o The impact is not purely financial as 55% of self-caterers have experienced mental health issues or some mild anxiety associated with the Covid-19 restrictions.
o Nearly 60% would like to see the introduction of financial support from the Scottish Government to help mitigate the impact of the new changes
o Three-quarters want clear communications from the Scottish Government on changes to restrictions.

For full details of the survey results, please click here.