“Scottish government support has been wholly inadequate to compensate for operating losses and a majority of businesses have now incurred unsustainable debt as a result.
“Even worse, all strategic framework funding has now ended while there is no end date for the restrictions that make these businesses commercially unviable.”
The group said 39,000 jobs were at risk as a direct result of the restrictions.
An NTIA poll of the trade body’s members last month revealed that the average debt amassed by venues due to the coronavirus pandemic had reached £150,000.
The survey also found that fewer than a quarter of premises had licensed outdoor areas – a serious issue for the industry as indoor drinking remains off the table – while almost all respondents said they could not “trade viably” with social distancing rules in place.
BBC News
Published
image copyrightGetty Images
Bar and nightclub bosses are mounting a legal challenge over Scottish government restrictions on the industry.
The trade body Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) Scotland announced a bid to end limits on venue capacity and opening hours.
It said the curbs are no longer justifiable or proportionate .
Under Scotland s current Covid rules, alcohol can only be served outside and venues must close at 20:00 indoors.
NTIA Scotland said in a statement: The hospitality sector in general, and late-night sector in particular, has been driven to the edge of insolvency by the severe restrictions in place since the start of the pandemic.
Want to read more?
At the start of the pandemic in March we took the decision to make online access to our news free of charge by taking down our paywall. At a time where accurate information about Covid-19 was vital to our community, this was the right decision – even though it meant a drop in our income.
In order to help safeguard the future of our journalism, the time has now come to reinstate our paywall, However,
rest assured that access to all Covid related news will still remain free.
To access all other news will require a subscription, as it did pre-pandemic. The good news is that for the whole of December we will be running a special discounted offer to get 3 months access for the price of one month. Thanks you for supporting us during this incredibly challenging time