Scotland tightens restrictions on takeaway and click and collect

By James McAllister

- Last updated on GMT

Scotland tightens restrictions on takeaway and click and collect

Related tags Scotland Coronavirus lockdown Takeaway

Scotland is to tighten restrictions on takeaway and click and collect services as part of a series of tougher lockdown measures set to come into force this weekend.

Hospitality businesses operating a takeaway service can no longer allow customers indoors, and must instead serve orders from a hatch or doorway.

Click and collect, meanwhile, will primarily be limited to essential services such as clothes, homeware, baby equipment and books, with timeslots required for collection.

However, UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls advises that hospitality businesses serving food for takeaway are still permitted to operate click and collect.

Drinking alcohol outdoors will also be banned in all Level 4 areas of Scotland, putting an end to the sale of takeaway pints; although the sale of takeaway alcohol by hospitality businesses is still allowed. 

The new lockdown rules were confirmed by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in a statement at the Scottish Parliament today (13 January), and will come into effect from Saturday (16 January).

Addressing MSPs, Sturgeon said: "I know that none of this makes for enjoyable listening.

"If it is any comfort - though I don't expect it will be - it gives me no pleasure to be talking about further restrictions on businesses and on our individual freedoms to come and go as we please."

The First Minister added that the Scottish Government believes these additional measures, in further reducing interactions that allow the virus to spread, will help its efforts to suppress transmissions.

Yesterday (12 January) it was reported that hospitality businesses in England could be banned from offering takeaway and click-and-collect services​ under tougher lockdown proposals being considered by ministers.

The scaling back the use of collection services for restaurants and takeaway, as well as non-essential retailers, was raised as part of the Cabinet sub-committee known as 'Covid O' on Sunday (10 January).

One source told The Telegraph​: "The general feedback is that click and collect is not working, people aren’t wearing masks in queues, people are too close to each other."

Two others cited takeaway food services and non-essential retail stores, some of which have switched to click and collect to avoid closing during the third lockdown, as areas of concern.

Related news

Show more

Follow us

Hospitality Guides

View more

Generation Next