WEDDING catering companies have accused the Scottish Government of “sheer discrimination” by banning tents that do not apply to pubs and restaurants.
Businesses were banned from supporting the hospitality industry because it was stated they did not have to close, despite the majority of couples canceling ceremonies.
The Scottish Wedding Industry Alliance (SWIA) says many outdoor event caterers are now in a critical position. While most have tried to diversify with takeaway services to stay afloat during the lockdown, some have been said to have gone out of business.
In another blow, the caterers have now been told that they cannot host marquee weddings, even though the business owners claim that they are actually safer than indoor spaces in terms of Covid risks.
Weddings can now resume for up to 50 people followed by a reception in Scotland. However, some restrictions remain, including a ban on dancing.
(A pre-pandemic wedding arranged by Jo’s Kitchen)
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Pubs and restaurants are allowed to set up temporary structures for outdoor drinking and adhere to social distancing restrictions.
Business owners say they were told the marquee ban was due to concerns that outdoor venues may not adhere to social distancing restrictions as strictly as hotels and restaurants do. Environmental health officers are not allowed to carry out controls on outdoor facilities on private land.
A spokeswoman for the SWIA described this as “an insult to the sector”.
She said, “Most hotel business owners aren’t always on-site, but catering business owners are on-site from the start until the last guest leaves, employing responsible people who are able to take the necessary precautions hold true.
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“They have to be trusted to make sure this is an integral part of their business and they are willing to deploy certain Covid security guards to ensure compliance.
“The anomaly is that tents are allowed in pub and hotel parking lots and gardens that are filled with drinkers. This is in no way fair to the catering sector.”
Jo Lawrence started his own catering company about a year or two before Covid started. In that short time, in 2019, she was awarded runner-up at the Scottish Wedding Awards.
It organizes weddings and other private dining events across Scotland, but particularly in the East Lothian, Edinburgh and Borders regions.
After all of her events were canceled, she adjusted her business – Jo’s Kitchen – to offer takeout meals and said she has worked seven days a week since then to stay solvent without making a profit.
“Off-company catering didn’t fall into one of the funding classes as we were told we don’t have to close,” she said.
“Most of the outside caterers make their living from weddings and in the winter season we do some dinner parties and the like.
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“None of this was available to us during the lockdown, so I quickly found a stream of earnings that would hold my business together. I had to lay off five employees after the vacation program ended because I just couldn’t afford it.” .
“I still have two employees. The only thing we could do was take out take-away, which was really successful at first. The second ban really wasn’t that good because there were so many people in it.
“I expect that when the restaurants reopen next week, they will practically go away.”
Ms. Lawrence said the companies are ready to accept this as they expect catering to resume outside of the wedding.
“But then they added this addendum that weddings shouldn’t be allowed on private land and in unlicensed locations at all. Well, where we do our weddings. We don’t go to hotels because they have their own catering teams.
“And the reason is because they don’t trust us to adhere to the Covid rules. Since this is private land, environmental health has no power to step in. We’re well established business owners, it’s incredibly offensive.
“We’re there from dawn until the last person goes home. Restaurant managers won’t see every minute of a wedding there. We absolutely are.”
“We believe that outdoor venues are actually safer. It’s essentially an outdoor wedding with a little bit of coverage.
“The good thing for caterers is that we can grow tents while hotels can’t suddenly expand their function space,” she added.
The Herald turned to the Scottish Government for comment.