Dear First Minister,

New operating rules for pubs and the urgent need for more support

I am writing to express dismay at the measures you have introduced today and to ask if you have any understanding of what this means for small community pubs and the people who work in them.

By reintroducing one metre distancing, you have effectively halved the capacity of small establishments to a point where it is hardly worth opening the door. Unfortunately, because there is no provision to pay staff in the event of closure, pubs will have to open and run at a loss in order to try to pay wages. In many cases, this will still not be possible and countless people face either losing their jobs or weeks of unpaid furlough because there is simply no money to pay them. After nearly two years of restrictions, many businesses have no cash reserves at all and in a lot of cases this will spell the end for them…